Sample records for recreate big bang

A few microseconds after the BigBang, the Universe was most likely a fiery soup of quarks and gluons – the quark-gluon plasma, or 'quagma' – with the gluons carrying the inter-quark 'colour' force. As this cooled, quarks froze into 'colourless' bricks of nuclear matter – protons, neutrons and other strongly interacting particles – and have remained this way ever since. However in the past few years, Brookhaven and CERN began supplying experiments with high energy beams of heavy nuclei. When such heavy projectiles slam into nuclear targets, the component quarks might be squeezed together and heated, breaking loose and recreating, fleetingly, something approaching quark-gluon plasma

In the Netherlands, it is a tradition of setting off fireworks to celebrate the turn of the year. In our medical facility, each year patients with severe skeletal maxillofacial trauma inflicted by recreational fireworks are encountered. We present two cases of patients with severe blast injury to the face, caused by direct impact of rockets, and thereby try to contribute to the limited literature on facial blast injuries, their treatment, and clinical outcome. These patients require multidisciplinary treatment, involving multiple reconstructive surgeries, and the overall recovery process is long. The severity of these traumas raises questions about the firework traditions and legislations not only in the Netherlands but also worldwide. Therefore, the authors support restrictive laws on personal use of fireworks in the Netherlands.

The paper concerns the 'BigBang' theory of the creation of the Universe 15 thousand million years ago, and traces events which physicists predict occurred soon after the creation. Unified theory of the moment of creation, evidence of an expanding Universe, the X-boson -the particle produced very soon after the bigbang and which vanished from the Universe one-hundredth of a second after the bigbang, and the fate of the Universe, are all discussed. (U.K.)

The precision of measurements in modern cosmology has made huge strides in recent years, with measurements of the cosmic microwave background and the determination of the Hubble constant now rivaling the level of precision of the predictions of bigbang nucleosynthesis. However, these results are not necessarily consistent with the predictions of the Standard Model of bigbang nucleosynthesis. Reconciling these discrepancies may require extensions of the basic tenets of the model, and possibly of the reaction rates that determine the bigbang abundances

The bigbang theory is a model of the universe which makes the striking prediction that the universe began a finite amount of time in the past at the so called "BigBang singularity." We explore the physical and mathematical justification of this surprising result. After laying down the framework of the universe as a spacetime manifold, we combine physical observations with global symmetrical assumptions to deduce the FRW cosmological models which predict a bigbang singularity. Next we prove a couple theorems due to Stephen Hawking which show that the bigbang singularity exists even if one removes the global symmetrical assumptions. Lastly, we investigate the conditions one needs to impose on a spacetime if one wishes to avoid a singularity. The ideas and concepts used here to study spacetimes are similar to those used to study Riemannian manifolds, therefore we compare and contrast the two geometries throughout.

In these lectures I briefly review BigBang baryosynthesis. In the first lecture I discuss the evidence which exists for the BAU, the failure of non-GUT symmetrical cosmologies, the qualitative picture of baryosynthesis, and numerical results of detailed baryosynthesis calculations. In the second lecture I discuss the requisite CP violation in some detail, further the statistical mechanics of baryosynthesis, possible complications to the simplest scenario, and one cosmological implication of BigBang baryosynthesis. (orig./HSI)

How did the Universe begin? The favoured theory is that everything - space, time, matter - came into existence at the same moment, around 13.7 thousand million years ago. This event was scornfully referred to as the "BigBang" by Sir Fred Hoyle, who did not believe in it and maintained that the Universe had always existed.

Cosmology, the study of the universe as a whole, has become a precise physical science, the foundation of which is our understanding of the cosmic microwave background radiation (CMBR) left from the bigbang. The story of the discovery and exploration of the CMBR in the 1960s is recalled for the first time in this collection of 44 essays by eminent scientists who pioneered the work. Two introductory chapters put the essays in context, explaining the general ideas behind the expanding universe and fossil remnants from the early stages of the expanding universe. The last chapter describes how the confusion of ideas and measurements in the 1960s grew into the present tight network of tests that demonstrate the accuracy of the bigbang theory. This book is valuable to anyone interested in how science is done, and what it has taught us about the large-scale nature of the physical universe.

BigBang Circus is an opera I composed in 2001 and which was premiered at the Venice Biennale Contemporary Music Festival in 2002. A chamber group, four singers and a ringmaster stage the story of the Universe confronting and interweaving two threads: how early man imagined it and how scientists described it. Surprisingly enough fancy, myths and scientific explanations often end up using the same images, metaphors and sometimes even words: a strong tension, a drumskin starting to vibrate, a shout…

In a popular class of models, dark matter comprises an asymmetric population of composite particles with short range interactions arising from a confined nonabelian gauge group. We show that coupling this sector to a well-motivated light mediator particle yields efficient darkleosynthesis , a dark-sector version of big-bang nucleosynthesis (BBN), in generic regions of parameter space. Dark matter self-interaction bounds typically require the confinement scale to be above ΛQCD , which generica...

How to analyse a BigBang of data: the mammoth project at the Cern physics laboratory in Geneva to recreate the conditions immediately after the universe began requires computing power on an unprecedented scale

In discussing the viability of the big-bang model of the Universe relative evidence is examined including the discrepancies in the age of the big-bang Universe, the red shifts of quasars, the microwave background radiation, general theory of relativity aspects such as the change of the gravitational constant with time, and quantum theory considerations. It is felt that the arguments considered show that the big-bang picture is not as soundly established, either theoretically or observationally, as it is usually claimed to be, that the cosmological problem is still wide open and alternatives to the standard big-bang picture should be seriously investigated. (U.K.)

The light-like linear dilaton background represents a particularly simple time-dependent 1/2 BPS solution of critical type IIA superstring theory in ten dimensions. Its lift to M-theory, as well as its Einstein frame metric, are singular in the sense that the geometry is geodesically incomplete and the Riemann tensor diverges along a light-like subspace of codimension one. We study this background as a model for a bigbang type singularity in string theory/M-theory. We construct the dual Matr...

The author considers experiments to confirm the substantial deviations from a Planck curve in the Woody and Richards spectrum of the microwave background, and search for conducting needles in our galaxy. Spectral deviations and needle-shaped grains are expected for a cold BigBang, but are not required by a hot BigBang. (Auth.)

We present an overview of the standard model of bigbang nucleosynthesis (BBN), which describes the production of the light elements in the early universe. The theoretical prediction for the abundances of D, 3 He, 4 He, and 7 Li is discussed. We emphasize the role of key nuclear reactions and the methods by which experimental cross section uncertainties are propagated into uncertainties in the predicted abundances. The observational determination of the light nuclides is also discussed. Particular attention is given to the comparison between the predicted and observed abundances, which yields a measurement of the cosmic baryon content. The spectrum of anisotropies in the cosmic microwave background (CMB) now independently measures the baryon density to high precision; we show how the CMB data test BBN, and find that the CMB and the D and 4 He observations paint a consistent picture. This concordance stands as a major success of the hot bigbang. On the other hand, 7 Li remains discrepant with the CMB-preferred baryon density; possible explanations are reviewed. Finally, moving beyond the standard model, primordial nucleosynthesis constraints on early universe and particle physics are also briefly discussed

"It was not the kind of "big band" they were hopint for - but the explosion at the new £6.81 bn particle accelerator in Switzerland on Saturday, was "not a major setback", says a British scientist who is leading the project." (1 page)

The usual FRW hot big-bang cosmologies have been generalized by considering the equation of state ρ = Anm +(γ-1) -1 p, where m is the rest mass of the fluid particles and A is a dimensionless constant. Explicit analytic solutions are given for the flat case (ε=O). For large cosmological times these extended models behave as the standard Einstein-de Sitter universes regardless of the values of A and γ. Unlike the usual FRW flat case the deceleration parameter q is a time-dependent function and its present value, q≅ 1, obtained from the luminosity distance versus redshift relation, may be fitted by taking, for instance, A=1 and γ = 5/3 (monatomic relativistic gas with >> k B T). In all cases the universe cools obeying the same temperature law of the FRW models and it is shown that the age of the universe is only slightly modified. (author) [pt

As one of the very few people in the world to give the “go/no go” decision to detonate a nuclear device, Austin “Mac” McGuire holds a very special place in the history of both the Los Alamos National Laboratory and the world. As Commander of Joint Task Force Unit 8.1.1, on Christmas Island in the spring and summer of 1962, Mac directed the Los Alamos data collection efforts for twelve of the last atmospheric nuclear detonations conducted by the United States. Since data collection was at the heart of nuclear weapon testing, it fell to Mac to make the ultimate decision to detonate each test device. He calls his experience THE LAST BIGBANG, since these tests, part of Operation Dominic, were characterized by the dramatic displays of the heat, light, and sounds unique to atmospheric nuclear detonations – never, perhaps, to be witnessed again.

The light-like linear dilaton background represents a particularly simple time-dependent 1/2 BPS solution of critical type-IIA superstring theory in ten dimensions. Its lift to M-theory, as well as its Einstein frame metric, are singular in the sense that the geometry is geodesically incomplete and the Riemann tensor diverges along a light-like subspace of codimension one. We study this background as a model for a bigbang type singularity in string theory/M-theory. We construct the dual Matrix theory description in terms of a (1+1)-d supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory on a time-dependent world-sheet given by the Milne orbifold of (1+1)-d Minkowski space. Our model provides a framework in which the physics of the singularity appears to be under control

The light-like linear dilaton background represents a particularly simple time-dependent 1/2 BPS solution of critical type-IIA superstring theory in ten dimensions. Its lift to M-theory, as well as its Einstein frame metric, are singular in the sense that the geometry is geodesically incomplete and the Riemann tensor diverges along a light-like subspace of codimension one. We study this background as a model for a bigbang type singularity in string theory/M-theory. We construct the dual Matrix theory description in terms of a (1+1)-d supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory on a time-dependent world-sheet given by the Milne orbifold of (1+1)-d Minkowski space. Our model provides a framework in which the physics of the singularity appears to be under control.

The Rate Change BigBang Theory redefines the birth of the universe with a dramatic shift in energy direction and a new vision of the first moments. With rate change graph technology (RCGT) we can look back 13.7 billion years and experience every step of the bigbang through geometrical intersection technology. The analysis of the BigBang includes a visualization of the first objects, their properties, the astounding event that created space and time as well as a solution to the mystery of anti-matter.

Full Text Available In a popular class of models, dark matter comprises an asymmetric population of composite particles with short range interactions arising from a confined nonabelian gauge group. We show that coupling this sector to a well-motivated light mediator particle yields efficient darkleosynthesis, a dark-sector version of big-bang nucleosynthesis (BBN, in generic regions of parameter space. Dark matter self-interaction bounds typically require the confinement scale to be above ΛQCD, which generically yields large (≫MeV/dark-nucleon binding energies. These bounds further suggest the mediator is relatively weakly coupled, so repulsive forces between dark-sector nuclei are much weaker than Coulomb repulsion between standard-model nuclei, which results in an exponential barrier-tunneling enhancement over standard BBN. Thus, darklei are easier to make and harder to break than visible species with comparable mass numbers. This process can efficiently yield a dominant population of states with masses significantly greater than the confinement scale and, in contrast to dark matter that is a fundamental particle, may allow the dominant form of dark matter to have high spin (S≫3/2, whose discovery would be smoking gun evidence for dark nuclei.

We present new upper and lower bounds to the primordial abundances of deuterium and {sup 3}He based on observational data from the solar system and the interstellar medium. Independent of any model for the primordial production of the elements we find (at the 95{percent} C.L.): 1.5{times}10{sup {minus}5}{le}(D/H){sub {ital P}}{le}10.0{times}10{sup {minus}5} and ({sup 3}He/H){sub {ital P}}{le}2.6{times}10{sup {minus}5}. When combined with the predictions of standard bigbang nucleosynthesis, these constraints lead to a 95{percent} C.L. bound on the primordial abundance deuterium: (D/H){sub best}=(3.5{sup +2.7}{sub {minus}1.8}){times}10{sup {minus}5}. Measurements of deuterium absorption in the spectra of high-redshift QSOs will directly test this prediction. The implications of this prediction for the primordial abundances of {sup 4}He and {sup 7}Li are discussed, as well as those for the universal density of baryons. {copyright} {ital 1996 The American Astronomical Society.}

In a popular class of models, dark matter comprises an asymmetric population of composite particles with short range interactions arising from a confined nonabelian gauge group. We show that coupling this sector to a well-motivated light mediator particle yields efficient darkleosynthesis, a dark-sector version of big-bang nucleosynthesis (BBN), in generic regions of parameter space. Dark matter self-interaction bounds typically require the confinement scale to be above ΛQCD, which generically yields large (≫MeV /dark-nucleon) binding energies. These bounds further suggest the mediator is relatively weakly coupled, so repulsive forces between dark-sector nuclei are much weaker than Coulomb repulsion between standard-model nuclei, which results in an exponential barrier-tunneling enhancement over standard BBN. Thus, darklei are easier to make and harder to break than visible species with comparable mass numbers. This process can efficiently yield a dominant population of states with masses significantly greater than the confinement scale and, in contrast to dark matter that is a fundamental particle, may allow the dominant form of dark matter to have high spin (S ≫ 3 / 2), whose discovery would be smoking gun evidence for dark nuclei.

It is stated that the framework of baryon symmetric bigbang (BSBB) cosmology offers our greatest potential for deducting the evolution of the Universe because its physical laws and processes have the minimum number of arbitrary assumptions about initial conditions in the big-bang. In addition, it offers the possibility of explaining the photon-baryon ratio in the Universe and how galaxies and galaxy clusters are formed. BSBB cosmology also provides the only acceptable explanation at present for the origin of the cosmic γ-ray background radiation. (author)

Our universe appears to have been created not out of nothing but from a strange space-time dust. Quantum geometry (loop quantum gravity) makes it possible to avoid the ominous beginning of our universe with its physically unrealistic (i.e. infinite) curvature, extreme temperature, and energy density. This could be the long sought after explanation of the big-bang and perhaps even opens a window into a time before the big-bang: Space itself may have come from an earlier collapsing universe tha...

at different distances (that is, at different epochs in the past) to come to this ... that the expansion started billions of years ago from an explosive BigBang. Recent research sheds new light on the key cosmological question about the distant ...

Superstring theory suggests a new cosmology whereby a long inflationary phase preceded a non singular bigbang-like event. After discussing how pre-bigbang inflation naturally arises from an almost trivial initial state of the Universe, I will describe how present or near-future experiments can provide sensitive probes of how the Universe behaved in the pre-bang era

It is argued that the age of the universe may well be numerically finite (20 billion years or so) and conceptually infinite. A new and natural time scale is defined on a physical basis using group-theoretical arguments. An additive notion of time is obtained according to which the age of the universe is indeed infinite. In other words, never did the BigBang begin. This new time scale is not supposed to replace the ordinary cosmic time scale, but to supplement it (in the same way as rapidity has taken a place by the side of velocity in Einsteinian relativity). The question is discussed within the framework of conventional (big-bang) and classical (nonquantum) cosmology, but could easily be extended to more elaborate views, as the purpose is not so much to modify present theories as to reach a deeper understanding of their meaning

Some general properties of vacuum fluctuations in quantum field theory are described. The connection between the ''energy dominance'' of the energy density of vacuum fluctuations in curved space-time and the presence of singularity is discussed. It is pointed out that a de-Sitter space-time (with the energy density of the vacuum fluctuations in the Einstein equations) that matches the expanding Friedman solution may describe the history of the Universe before the BigBang. (P.L.)

Recent computer simulations indicate that a system of n gravitating masses breaks up, even when the total energy is negative. As a result, almost any initial phase-space distribution results in a universe that eventually expands under the Hubble law. Hence Hubble expansion implies little regarding an initial cosmic state. Especially it does not imply the singularly dense superpositioned state used in the bigbang model.

The February 2005 issue of The Science Teacher (TST) reminded everyone that by learning how scientists study stars, students gain an understanding of how science measures things that can not be set up in lab, either because they are too big, too far away, or happened in a very distant past. The authors of "How Far are the Stars?" show how the…

In this series, comedian and physicist Ben Miller asks the CERN scientists what they hope to find. If the LHC is successful, it will explain the nature of the Universe around us in terms of a few simple ingredients and a few simple rules. But the Universe now was forged in a BigBang where conditions were very different, and the rules were very different, and those early moments were crucial to determining how things turned out later. At the LHC they can recreate conditions as they were billionths of a second after the BigBang, before atoms and nuclei existed. They can find out why matter and antimatter didn't mutually annihilate each other to leave behind a Universe of pure, brilliant light. And they can look into the very structure of space and time - the fabric of the Universe

Starting from the Janus solution and its gauge theory dual, we obtain the dual gauge theory description of the cosmological solution by the procedure of double analytic continuation. The coupling is driven either to zero or to infinity at the big-bang and big-crunch singularities, which are shown to be related by the S-duality symmetry. In the dual Yang-Mills theory description, these are nonsingular as the coupling goes to zero in the N=4 super Yang-Mills theory. The cosmological singularities simply signal the failure of the supergravity description of the full type IIB superstring theory

We reanalyze the allowed parameters for inhomogeneous bigbang nucleosynthesis in light of the WMAP constraints on the baryon-to-photon ratio and a recent measurement which has set the neutron lifetime to be 878.5 +/- 0.7 +/- 0.3 seconds. For a set baryon-to-photon ratio the new lifetime reduces the mass fraction of He4 by 0.0015 but does not significantly change the abundances of other isotopes. This enlarges the region of concordance between He4 and deuterium in the parameter space of the b...

A cosmological model is given that has good physical properties for the early and late universe but is a hypersurface in a flat five-dimensional manifold. The bigbang can therefore be regarded as an effect of a choice of coordinates in a truncated higher-dimensional geometry. Thus the bigbang is in some sense a geometrical illusion.

George has problems. He has twin baby sisters at home who demand his parents’ attention. His beloved pig Freddy has been exiled to a farm, where he’s miserable. And worst of all, his best friend, Annie, has made a new friend whom she seems to like more than George. So George jumps at the chance to help Eric with his plans to run a big experiment in Switzerland that seeks to explore the earliest moment of the universe. But there is a conspiracy afoot, and a group of evildoers is planning to sabotage the experiment. Can George repair his friendship with Annie and piece together the clues before Eric’s experiment is destroyed forever? This engaging adventure features essays by Professor Stephen Hawking and other eminent physicists about the origins of the universe and ends with a twenty-page graphic novel that explains how the BigBang happened—in reverse!

Both the quantum theory and Einsteins theory of special relativity lead to the supposition that matter and antimatter were produced in equal quantities during the bigbang. It is noted that local matter/antimatter asymmetries may be reconciled with universal symmetry by assuming (1) a slight imbalance of matter over antimatter in the early universe, annihilation, and a subsequent remainder of matter; (2) localized regions of excess for one or the other type of matter as an initial condition; and (3) an extremely dense, high temperature state with zero net baryon number; i.e., matter/antimatter symmetry. Attention is given to the third assumption, which is the simplest and the most in keeping with current knowledge of the cosmos, especially as pertains the universality of 3 K background radiation. Mechanisms of galaxy formation are discussed, whereby matter and antimatter might have collided and annihilated each other, or have coexisted (and continue to coexist) at vast distances. It is pointed out that baryon symmetric bigbang cosmology could probably be proved if an antinucleus could be detected in cosmic radiation.

Techniques for verifying the spectrum defined by Woody and Richards (WR, 1981), which serves as a base for dust-distorted models of the 3 K background, are discussed. WR detected a sharp deviation from the Planck curve in the 3 K background. The absolute intensity of the background may be determined by the frequency dependence of the dipole anisotropy of the background or the frequency dependence effect in galactic clusters. Both methods involve the Doppler shift; analytical formulae are defined for characterization of the dipole anisotropy. The measurement of the 30-300 GHz spectra of cold galactic dust may reveal the presence of significant amounts of needle-shaped grains, which would in turn support a theory of a cold BigBang.

A new evaluation of the constraint on the number of light neutrino species (N ν ) from bigbang nucleosynthesis suggests a discrepancy between the predicted light element abundances and those inferred from observations, unless the inferred primordial 4 He abundance has been underestimated by 0.014±0.004 (1σ) or less than 10% (95% C.L.) of 3 He survives stellar processing. With the quoted systematic errors in the observed abundances and a conservative chemical evolution parametrization, the best fit to the combined data is N ν =2.1±0.3 (1σ) and the upper limit is N ν ν =3) at the 98.6% C.L. copyright 1995 The American Physical Society

General relativity predicts that space-time comes to an end and physics comes to a halt at the big-bang. Recent developments in loop quantum cosmology have shown that these predictions cannot be trusted. Quantum geometry effects can resolve singularities, thereby opening new vistas. Examples are: The bigbang is replaced by a quantum bounce; the `horizon problem' disappears; immediately after the big bounce, there is a super-inflationary phase with its own phenomenological ramifications; and, in presence of a standard inflation potential, initial conditions are naturally set for a long, slow roll inflation independently of what happens in the pre-bigbang branch. As in my talk at the conference, I will first discuss the foundational issues and then the implications of the new Planck scale physics near the BigBang.

We confront the bigbang for the beginning of the universe with an equivalent picture of a slow freeze - a very cold and slowly evolving universe. In the freeze picture the masses of elementary particles increase and the gravitational constant decreases with cosmic time, while the Newtonian attraction remains unchanged. The freeze and bigbang pictures both describe the same observations or physical reality. We present a simple ;crossover model; without a bigbang singularity. In the infinite past space-time is flat. Our model is compatible with present observations, describing the generation of primordial density fluctuations during inflation as well as the present transition to a dark energy-dominated universe.

A brief introduction to the bigbang picture of the early universe is given. Dark matter is discussed; particularly its implications for elementary particle physics. A classification scheme for dark matter relics is given. 21 refs., 11 figs., 1 tab

A brief introduction to the bigbang picture of the early universe is given. Dark matter is discussed; particularly its implications for elementary particle physics. A classification scheme for dark matter relics is given. 21 refs., 11 figs., 1 tab.

An overview is presented of NASA-Goddard's Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE), the first NASA satellite designed to observe the primeval explosion of the universe. The spacecraft carries three extremely sensitive IR and microwave instruments designed to measure the faint residual radiation from the BigBang and to search for the formation of the first galaxies. COBE's far IR absolute spectrophotometer has shown that the BigBang radiation has a blackbody spectrum, proving that there was no large energy release after the explosion.

Bang theory and showing that the BigBang was complete in the first instants, with only a tiny fraction dropdown arrow Site Map A-Z Index Menu Synopsis John C. Mather, the BigBang, and the COBE Resources with collaborative work on understanding the BigBang. Mather and Smoot analyzed data from NASA's Cosmic Background

The reparametrization-invariant generating functional for the unitary and causal perturbation theory in general relativity in a finite space-time is obtained. The classical cosmology of a Universe and the Faddeev-Popov-DeWitt functional correspond to different orders of decomposition of this functional over the inverse 'mass' of a Universe. It is shown that the invariant content of general relativity as a constrained system can be covered by two 'equivalent' unconstrained systems: the 'dynamic' (with 'dynamic' time as the cosmic scale factor and conformal field variables) and 'geometric' (given by the Levi-Civita type canonical transformation to the action-angle variables which determine initial cosmological states with the arrow of the proper time measured by the watch of an observer in the comoving frame). 'BigBang', the Hubble evolution, and creation of 'dynamic' particles by the 'geometric' vacuum are determined by 'relations' between the dynamic and geometric systems as pure relativistic phenomena, like the Lorentz-type 'relation' between the rest and comoving frames in special relativity

The homogeneous big-bang nucleosynthesis yields of D, He-3, He-4, and Li-7 are computed taking into account recent measurements of the neutron mean-life as well as updates of several nuclear reaction rates which primarily affect the production of Li-7. The extraction of primordial abundances from observation and the likelihood that the primordial mass fraction of He-4, Y(sub p) is less than or equal to 0.24 are discussed. Using the primordial abundances of D + He-3 and Li-7 we limit the baryon-to-photon ratio (eta in units of 10 exp -10) 2.6 less than or equal to eta(sub 10) less than or equal to 4.3; which we use to argue that baryons contribute between 0.02 and 0.11 to the critical energy density of the universe. An upper limit to Y(sub p) of 0.24 constrains the number of light neutrinos to N(sub nu) less than or equal to 3.4, in excellent agreement with the LEP and SLC collider results. We turn this argument around to show that the collider limit of 3 neutrino species can be used to bound the primordial abundance of He-4: 0.235 less than or equal to Y(sub p) less than or equal to 0.245.

Full Text Available According to the standard models of particle physics and cosmology, there should be a background of cosmic neutrinos in the present Universe, similar to the cosmic microwave photon background. The weakness of the weak interactions renders this neutrino background undetectable with current technology. The cosmic neutrino background can, however, be probed indirectly through its cosmological effects on bigbang nucleosynthesis (BBN and the cosmic microwave background (CMB radiation. In this BBN review, focused on neutrinos and more generally on dark radiation, the BBN constraints on the number of “equivalent neutrinos” (dark radiation, on the baryon asymmetry (baryon density, and on a possible lepton asymmetry (neutrino degeneracy are reviewed and updated. The BBN constraints on dark radiation and on the baryon density following from considerations of the primordial abundances of deuterium and helium-4 are in excellent agreement with the complementary results from the CMB, providing a suggestive, but currently inconclusive, hint of the presence of dark radiation, and they constrain any lepton asymmetry. For all the cases considered here there is a “lithium problem”: the BBN-predicted lithium abundance exceeds the observationally inferred primordial value by a factor of ~3.

Following the holographic description of linear dilaton null Cosmologies with a BigBang in terms of Matrix String Theory put forward by Craps, Sethi and Verlinde, we propose an extended background describing a Universe including both BigBang and Big Crunch singularities. This belongs to a class of exact string backgrounds and is perturbative in the string coupling far away from the singularities, both of which can be resolved using Matrix String Theory. We provide a simple theory capable of...

Some long-standing issues concerning the quantum nature of the bigbang are resolved in the context of homogeneous isotropic models with a scalar field. Specifically, the known results on the resolution of the big-bang singularity in loop quantum cosmology are significantly extended as follows: (i) the scalar field is shown to serve as an internal clock, thereby providing a detailed realization of the "emergent time" idea; (ii) the physical Hilbert space, Dirac observables, and semiclassical states are constructed rigorously; (iii) the Hamiltonian constraint is solved numerically to show that the bigbang is replaced by a big bounce. Thanks to the nonperturbative, background independent methods, unlike in other approaches the quantum evolution is deterministic across the deep Planck regime.

"Beneath the breathtaking alpine vineyards, work is on at a feverish pace to complete a machine nickmamed the "Lord of Rings". Otherwise called a particle accelerator, it will be switched on next summer." (1/2 page)

We confront the bigbang for the beginning of the universe with an equivalent picture of a slow freeze — a very cold and slowly evolving universe. In the freeze picture the masses of elementary particles increase and the gravitational constant decreases with cosmic time, while the Newtonian attraction remains unchanged. The freeze and bigbang pictures both describe the same observations or physical reality. We present a simple “crossover model” without a bigbang singularity. In the infinite past space–time is flat. Our model is compatible with present observations, describing the generation of primordial density fluctuations during inflation as well as the present transition to a dark energy-dominated universe.

We confront the bigbang for the beginning of the universe with an equivalent picture of a slow freeze — a very cold and slowly evolving universe. In the freeze picture the masses of elementary particles increase and the gravitational constant decreases with cosmic time, while the Newtonian attraction remains unchanged. The freeze and bigbang pictures both describe the same observations or physical reality. We present a simple “crossover model” without a bigbang singularity. In the infinite past space–time is flat. Our model is compatible with present observations, describing the generation of primordial density fluctuations during inflation as well as the present transition to a dark energy-dominated universe

A new experiment called PTOLEMY (Princeton Tritium Observatory for Light, Early-Universe, Massive-Neutrino Yield) is under development at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory with the goal of challenging one of the most fundamental predictions of the BigBang – the present-day existence of relic neutrinos produced less than one second after the BigBang. Using a gigantic graphene surface to hold 100 grams of a single-atomic layer of tritium, low noise antennas that sense the radio waves of individual electrons undergoing cyclotron motion, and a massive array of cryogenic sensors that sit at the transition between normal and superconducting states, the PTOLEMY project has the potential to challenge one of the most fundamental predictions of the BigBang, to potentially uncover new interactions and properties of the neutrinos, and to search for the existence of a species of light dark matter known as sterile neutrinos.

Full Text Available We confront the bigbang for the beginning of the universe with an equivalent picture of a slow freeze — a very cold and slowly evolving universe. In the freeze picture the masses of elementary particles increase and the gravitational constant decreases with cosmic time, while the Newtonian attraction remains unchanged. The freeze and bigbang pictures both describe the same observations or physical reality. We present a simple “crossover model” without a bigbang singularity. In the infinite past space–time is flat. Our model is compatible with present observations, describing the generation of primordial density fluctuations during inflation as well as the present transition to a dark energy-dominated universe.

The quantum fluctuations of a homogeneous, isotropic, open pre-bigbang model are discussed. By solving exactly the equations for tensor and scalar perturbations we find that particle production is negligible during the perturbative Pre-BigBang phase

The predictions of general relativity have been verified by now in a variety of different situations, setting strong constraints on any alternative theory of gravity. Nonetheless, there are strong indications that general relativity has to be regarded as an approximation of a more complete theory. Indeed theorists have long been looking for ways to connect general relativity, which describes the cosmos and the infinitely large, to quantum physics, which has been remarkably successful in explaining the infinitely small world of elementary particles. These two worlds, however, come closer and closer to each other as we go back in time all the way up to the bigbang. Actually, modern cosmology has changed completely the old bigbang paradigm: we now have to talk about (at least) two (big?) bangs. If we know quite something about the one closer to us, at the end of inflation, we are much more ignorant about the one that may have preceded inflation and possibly marked the beginning of time. No one doubts that quantum mechanics plays an essential role in answering these questions: unfortunately a unified theory of gravity and quantum mechanics is still under construction. Finding such a synthesis and confirming it experimentally will no doubt be one of the biggest challenges of this century’s physics.

A detailed reexamination is made of primordial big-bang nucleosynthesis (BBN), concentrating on the data for the main nuclear reactions leading to the production of Li-7, He-3 and D, and on the neutron half-life, relevant for He-4 production. The new values for reaction rates and uncertainties are then used as input in a Monte Carlo analysis of bigbang nucleosynthesis of light elements. This allows confidence levels for the predictions of the standard BBN model to be high. 70 refs

Some outstanding problems in connection with the bigbang cosmology and relativity theory are reviewed under the headings: enigmas; nostrums and elixirs (the universe as Phoenix (an oscillating universe), the anthropomorphic universe (existence of observers in the present universe), reproducing universes (could a mini bigbang bounce, perhaps adding entropy and matter and eventually developing into a suitable home for observers), variable strength of the gravitational interaction and oscillating universes (possible bounce models that have led eventually to the present hospitable environment). (U.K.)

When quantum gravity is used to discuss the bigbang singularity, the most important, though rarely addressed, question is what role genuine quantum degrees of freedom play. Here, complete effective equations are derived for isotropic models with an interacting scalar to all orders in the expansions involved. The resulting coupling terms show that quantum fluctuations do not affect the bounce much. Quantum correlations, however, do have an important role and could even eliminate the bounce. How quantum gravity regularizes the bigbang depends crucially on properties of the quantum state.

The old concept of the bigbang is reviewed, and modifications that have recently occurred in the theory are described. The concept of the false vacuum is explained, and its role in the cosmic inflation scenario is shown. The way inflation solves critical problems of the old bigbang scenario is indicated. The potential of supersymmetry and Kaluza-Klein theories for the development of a superunified theory of physical forces is discussed. Superstrings and their possible role in a superunified theory, including their usefulness in solving the problem of infinities, is considered

The framework of baryon-symmetric big-bang cosmology offers the greatest potential for deducing the evolution of the universe as a consequence of physical laws and processes with the minimum number of arbitrary assumptions as to initial conditions in the big-bang. In addition, it offers the possibility of explaining the photon-baryon ratio in the universe and how galaxies and galaxy clusters are formed, and also provides the only acceptable explanation at present for the origin of the cosmic gamma ray background radiation.

The framework of baryon-symmetric big-bang cosmology offers the greatest potential for deducing the evolution of the universe as a consequence of physical laws and processes with the minimum number of arbitrary assumptions as to initial conditions in the big-bang. In addition, it offers the possibility of explaining the photon-baryon ratio in the universe and how galaxies and galaxy clusters are formed, and also provides the only acceptable explanation at present for the origin of the cosmic gamma ray background radiation

"On November 26 2007, the most complex scientific instrument ever built will be turned on in an attempt to rerun the BigBang - but i would never have got off the ground - litteraly - without the hundreds of hoists and cranes on site." (1/2 page)

For 20 years, Paul Steinhardt has played a key role in helping to write and refine the inflationary "bigbang" origin of the universe. But over the past few years, he decided to see if he could come up with a plausible alternative to the prevailing notion (1 page).

We give a mathematically exact and physically faithful embedding of curved 4D cosmology in a flat 5D space, thereby enabling visualization of the bigbang in a new and informative way. In fact, in unified theories of fields and particles with real extra dimensions, it is possible to dispense with the initial singularity.

A recent cosmological model is recapitulated which deduces the correct mass, radius and age of the universe as also the Hubble constant and other well known apparently coincidental relations. It also predicts an ever expanding accelerating universe as is confirmed by latest supernovae observations. Finally the BigBang model is recovered as a suitable limiting case.

Following the holographic description of linear dilaton null cosmologies with a bigbang in terms of matrix string theory put forward by Craps, Sethi, and Verlinde, we propose an extended background describing a universe including both bigbang and big crunch singularities. This belongs to a class of exact string backgrounds and is perturbative in the string coupling far away from the singularities, both of which can be resolved using matrix string theory. We provide a simple theory capable of describing the complete evolution of this closed universe

Two groups of argentine physicists from La Plata and Buenos Aires Universities work in a sery of experiments who while recreate the conditions of the big explosion that was at the origin of the universe. (1 page)

How did our universe come into being? The BigBang theory is a widely accepted and highly successful cosmological model of the universe, but it does introduce one puzzle: the cosmological lithium problem. Have scientists now found a solution?Too Much LithiumIn the BigBang theory, the universe expanded rapidly from a very high-density and high-temperature state dominated by radiation. This theory has been validated again and again: the discovery of the cosmic microwave background radiation and observations of the large-scale structure of the universe both beautifully support the BigBang theory, for instance. But one pesky trouble-spot remains: the abundance of lithium.The arrows show the primary reactions involved in BigBang nucleosynthesis, and their flux ratios, as predicted by the authors model, are given on the right. Synthesizing primordial elements is complicated! [Hou et al. 2017]According to BigBang nucleosynthesis theory, primordial nucleosynthesis ran wild during the first half hour of the universes existence. This produced most of the universes helium and small amounts of other light nuclides, including deuterium and lithium.But while predictions match the observed primordial deuterium and helium abundances, BigBang nucleosynthesis theory overpredicts the abundance of primordial lithium by about a factor of three. This inconsistency is known as the cosmological lithium problem and attempts to resolve it using conventional astrophysics and nuclear physics over the past few decades have not been successful.In a recent publicationled by Suqing Hou (Institute of Modern Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences) and advisorJianjun He (Institute of Modern Physics National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences), however, a team of scientists has proposed an elegant solution to this problem.Time and temperature evolution of the abundances of primordial light elements during the beginning of the universe. The authors model (dotted lines

Now that's a cheery thought! Somewhere more than 100 km below the Geneva countryside two parallel beams of subatomic particles are whizzing around a 27 km circuit in opposite directions at about 99% of the speed of light, doing over 11 000 laps per second. Physicists hope to create a 'bang' that won't end the world, but will unlock some of its mysteries. I confess I have never thought of physicists as poets, but they certainly come up with some evocative models to explain the unknown such as 'dark matter', the invisible skeleton stretching through space; or 'dark energy', which drives the expansion of the universe; or the grandiose 'God's particle' (officially named 'Higgs boson') postulated to endow other particles with mass. These are concepts both too large and too small to grasp.

An atomic model of the BigBang has been developed on the basis of quantum geometrodynamics with a nonzero Hamiltonian and on the concept of gravitation developed by Logunov asymptotically combined with the Gliner's idea of a material interpretation of the cosmological constant. The Lemaître primordial atom in superpace-time, whose spatial coordinate is the so-called scaling factor of the Logunov metric of the effective Riemann space, acts as the BigBang model. The primordial atom in superspace-time corresponds to spatialtime structures(spheres, lines, and surfaces of a level) of the Minkowski spacetime real within the Logunov gravitation theory, the foregoing structures being filled with a scalar field with a negative density of potential energy.

"The most extensive and expensive scientific instrument in history is due to start working this summer at CERN, the European particle physics laboratory near Geneva. Two beams of protons will accelerate in opposite directions around a 27 km tunnel under the alpine foothills until they are travelling almost at the speed of light - and then smash together, reproducing on a tiny scale the intense energy of the new-born universe after the inaugural BigBang 15bn years ago. (1 page)

The most extensive and expensive scientific instrument in history is due to start working this summer at Cern, the European particle physics laboratory near Geneva. Two beams of protons will accelerate in opposite directions around a 27km tunnel under the Alpine foothills until they are travelling almost at the speed of light - and then smash together, reproducing on a tiny scale the intense energy of the new-born universe after the inaugural BigBang 15bn years ago.

We analyse active-active neutrino mixing in the early universe and show that transformation of neutrino-antineutrino asymmetries between flavours is unavoidable when neutrino mixing angles are large. This process is a standard Mikheyev-Smirnov-Wolfenstein flavour transformation, modified by the synchronisation of momentum states which results from neutrino-neutrino forward scattering. The new constraints placed on neutrino asymmetries eliminate the possibility of degenerate bigbang nucleosynthesis.Implications of active-sterile neutrino mixing will also be reviewed.

Introduced here is a model of the early universe based on the possibility of a first-order phase transition involving gravity, and arrived at by a consideration of instabilities in the semiclassical theory. The evolution of the system is very different from the standard Friedmann-Robertson-Walker big-bang scenario, indicating the potential importance of semiclassical finite-temperature gravitational effects. Baryosynthesis and monopole production in this scenario are also outlined

The BigBang Observer is a proposed space-based gravitational-wave detector intended as a follow on mission to the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA). It is designed to detect the stochastic background of gravitational waves from the early universe. We discuss how the interferometry can be arranged between three spacecraft for this mission and what research and development on key technologies are necessary to realize this scheme.

The BigBang Observer is a proposed space-based gravitational-wave detector intended as a follow on mission to the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA). It is designed to detect the stochastic background of gravitational waves from the early universe. We discuss how the interferometry can be arranged between three spacecraft for this mission and what research and development on key technologies are necessary to realize this scheme.

Photodisintegration cross sections were measured for deuterium with Laser-Compton scattering γ beams at seven energies near threshold. Combined with the preceding data, R(E)=N a σv for the p(n,γ)D reaction is for the first time evaluated based on experimental data with 6% uncertainty in the energy region relevant to the bigbang nucleosynthesis (BBN). The result confirms the theoretical evaluation on which the BBN in the precision era relies

We study a quotient Conformal Field Theory, which describes a 3+1 dimensional cosmological spacetime. Part of this spacetime is the Nappi-Witten (NW) universe, which starts at a 'bigbang' singularity, expands and then contracts to a 'big crunch' singularity at a finite time. The gauged WZW model contains a number of copies of the NW spacetime, with each copy connected to the preceding one and to the next one at the respective bigbang/big crunch singularities. The sequence of NW spacetimes is further connected at the singularities to a series of non-compact static regions with closed timelike curves. These regions contain boundaries, on which the observables of the theory live. This suggests a holographic interpretation of the physics. (author)

We consider the properties of stress-energy tensors compatible with a null bigbang, i.e., cosmological evolution starting from a Killing horizon rather than a singularity. For Kantowski-Sachs cosmologies, it is shown that if matter satisfies the null energy condition, then (i) regular cosmological evolution can only start from a Killing horizon, (ii) matter is absent at the horizon and (iii) matter can only appear in the cosmological region due to interaction with vacuum. The latter is understood phenomenologically as a fluid whose stress tensor is insensitive to boosts in a particular direction. We also argue that matter is absent in a static region beyond the horizon. All this generalizes the observations recently obtained for a mixture of dust and a vacuum fluid. If, however, we admit the existence of phantom matter, its certain special kinds (with the parameter w ≤ -3) are consistent with a null bigbang without interaction with vacuum (or without vacuum fluid at all). Then in the static region there is matter with w ≥ -1/3. Alternatively, the evolution can begin from a horizon in an infinitely remote past, leading to a scenario combining the features of a null bigbang and an emergent universe

The evolution of the rotational inhomogeneities is investigated in the specific framework of four-dimensional pre-bigbang models. While minimal (dilaton-driven) scenarios do not lead to rotational fluctuations, in the case of non-minimal (string-driven) models, fluid sources are present in the pre-bigbang phase. The rotational modes of the geometry, coupled to the divergenceless part of the velocity field, can then be amplified depending upon the value of the barotropic index of the perfect fluids. In the light of a possible production of rotational inhomogeneities, solutions describing the coupled evolution of the dilaton field and of the fluid sources are scrutinized in both the string and Einstein frames. In semi-realistic scenarios, where the curvature divergences are regularized by means of a non-local dilaton potential, the rotational inhomogeneities are amplified during the pre-bigbang phase but they decay later on. Similar analyses can also be performed when a contraction occurs directly in the string frame metric

The evolution of the rotational inhomogeneities is investigated in the specific framework of four-dimensional pre-bigbang models. While minimal (dilaton-driven) scenarios do not lead to rotational fluctuations, in the case of non-minimal (string-driven) models, fluid sources are present in the pre-bigbang phase. The rotational modes of the geometry, coupled to the divergenceless part of the velocity field, can then be amplified depending upon the value of the barotropic index of the perfect fluids. In the light of a possible production of rotational inhomogeneities, solutions describing the coupled evolution of the dilaton field and of the fluid sources are scrutinized in both the string and Einstein frames. In semi-realistic scenarios, where the curvature divergences are regularized by means of a non-local dilaton potential, the rotational inhomogeneities are amplified during the pre-bigbang phase but they decay later on. Similar analyses can also be performed when a contraction occurs directly in the string frame metric.

The hot big-bang cosmology provides a reliable accounting of the Universe from about 10{sup {minus}2} sec after the bang until the present, as well as a robust framework for speculating back to times as early as 10{sup {minus}43} sec. Cosmology faces a number of important challenges; foremost among them are determining the quantity and composition of matter in the Universe and developing a detailed and coherent picture of how structure (galaxies, clusters of galaxies, superclusters, voids, great walls, and so on) developed. At present there is a working hypothesis{emdash}cold dark matter{emdash}which is based upon inflation and which, if correct, would extend the bigbang model back to 10{sup {minus}32} sec and cast important light on the unification of the forces. Many experiments and observations, from CBR anisotropy experiments to Hubble Space Telescope observations to experiments at Fermilab and CERN, are now putting the cold dark matter theory to the test. At present it appears that the theory is viable only if the Hubble constant is smaller than current measurements indicate (around 30 km s{sup {minus}1} Mpc{sup {minus}1}), or if the theory is modified slightly, e.g., by the addition of a cosmological constant, a small admixture of hot dark matter (5 eV {open_quote}{open_quote}worth of neutrinos{close_quote}{close_quote}), more relativistic particle or a tilted spectrum of density perturbations.

It is shown that LEP probes the BigBang in two significant ways: (1) nucleosynthesis and (2) dark matter constraints. In the first case, LEP verifies the cosmological standard model prediction on the number of neutrino types, thus strengthening the conclusion that the cosmological baryon density is {approximately}6% of the critical value. In the second case, LEP shows that the remaining non-baryonic cosmological matter must be somewhat more massive and/or more weakly interacting that the favorite non-baryonic dark matter candidates of a few years ago. 59 refs., 4 figs., 2 tabs.

It is shown that LEP probes the BigBang in two significant ways: (1) nucleosynthesis and (2) dark matter constraints. In the first case, LEP verifies the cosmological standard model prediction on the number of neutrino types, thus strengthening the conclusion that the cosmological baryon density is ∼6% of the critical value. In the second case, LEP shows that the remaining non-baryonic cosmological matter must be somewhat more massive and/or more weakly interacting that the favorite non-baryonic dark matter candidates of a few years ago. 59 refs., 4 figs., 2 tabs

Current observational data on the abundances of deuterium, helium-3, helium-4 and lithium-7 are reviewed and these data are used to infer (or to bound) the primordial abundances of these elements. The physics of primordial nucleosynthesis in the context of the ''standard'' (isotropic, homogeneous,...) hot bigbang model is outlined and the primordial abundances predicted within the context of this model are presented. The theoretical predictions are then confronted with the observational data. This confrontation reveals the remarkable consistency of the standard model, constrains the nucleon abundance to lie within a narrow range and, permits the existence of no more than one additional flavor of light neutrinos

It is shown that LEP probes the BigBang in two significant ways: (1) nucleosynthesis, and (2) dark matter constraints. In the first case, LEP verifies the cosmological standard model prediction on the number of neutrino types, thus strengthening the conclusion that the cosmological baryon density is approximately 6 percent of the critical value. In the second case, LEP shows that the remaining non-baryonic cosmological matter must be somewhat more massive and/or more weakly interacting than the favorite non-baryonic dark matter candidates of a few years ago.

The temperature-dependent effective action for gravity is calculated in pregeometry. It indicates that the effective potential for the space-time metric has the minimum at the origin for extremely high temperature. The origin of the bigbang can be taken as a local and spontaneous phase transition of the space-time from the pregeometric phase to the geometric one. It is suggested that in our universe there may exist ''pregeometric holes'' where the space-time metric absolutely vanishes and/or ''space-time discontinuities'' where the metric discretely changes. (author)

We examine the constraints imposed by the requirement of successful nucleosynthesis on models with one large extra hidden space dimension and a single bulk neutrino residing in this dimension. We solve the Boltzmann kinetic equation for the thermal distribution of the Kaluza-Klein modes and evaluate their contribution to the energy density at the bigbang nucleosynthesis epoch to constrain the size of the extra dimension R -1 ≡μ and the parameter sin 2 2θ which characterizes the mixing between the active and bulk neutrinos

The pre-big-bang cosmology inspired by superstring theories has been suggested as an alternative to slow-roll inflation. We analyze, in both the Jordan and Einstein frames, the effect of spatial curvature on this scenario and show that too much curvature --- of either sign --- reduces the duration of the inflationary era to such an extent that the flatness and horizon problems are not solved. Hence, a fine-tuning of initial conditions is required to obtain enough inflation to solve the cosmological problems.

These proceedings are based on lectures delivered at the 'RTN Winter School on Strings, Supergravity and Gauge Theories', CERN, 16-20 January 2006. The school was mainly aimed at PhD students and young postdocs. The lectures start with a brief introduction to spacetime singularities and the string theory resolution of certain static singularities. Then they discuss attempts to resolve cosmological singularities in string theory, mainly focusing on two specific examples: the Milne orbifold and the matrix bigbang.

We present a brief overview of the neutrino decoupling and bigbang nucleosynthesis in the early universe. The bigbang relic neutrinos formed one of the backgrounds of the universe. A few possible ways to directly detect the cosmic neutrino background are briefly introduced, and particular attention is paid to the relic neutrino capture on b-decaying nuclei. (authors)

Offers an account of the accumulation of evidence that has led scientists to have confidence in the bigbang theory of the creation of the universe. Discusses the early work of Ptolemy, Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo, and Newton, noting the rise of astrophysics, and highlighting the birth of the bigbang model (the cosmic microwave background theory…

Martha Jones, ex-time traveller and now working as a doctor for a UN task force, has been called to CERN where they're about to activate the Large Hadron Collider. Once activated, the Collider will fire beams of protons together recreating conditions a billionth of a second after the BigBang - and potentially allowing the human race a greater insight into what the Universe is made of. But so much could go wrong - it could open a gateway to a parallel dimension, or create a black hole - and now voices from the past are calling out to people and scientists have started to disappear... Where have the missing scientists gone? What is the secret of the glowing man? What is lurking in the underground tunnel? And do the dead ever really stay dead? Lost Souls is a spin-off from the award-winning BBC Wales TV production Torchwood. It stars John Barrowman, Freema Agyeman, Eve Myles, Gareth David-Lloyd, Lucy Montgomery (of Titty BangBang) and Stephen Critchlow.

We consider quantum field theory on a spacetime representing the big-crunch-big-bang transition postulated in ekpyrotic or cyclic cosmologies. We show via several independent methods that an essentially unique matching rule holds connecting the incoming state, in which a single extra dimension shrinks to zero, to the outgoing state in which it reexpands at the same rate. For free fields in our construction there is no particle production from the incoming adiabatic vacuum. When interactions are included the particle production for fixed external momentum is finite at the tree level. We discuss a formal correspondence between our construction and quantum field theory on de Sitter spacetime

This abstract alerts physicists to a situation that, unless soon addressed, may yet affect PRL integrity. I refer to Stanley Brown's and DAE Robert Caldwell's rejection of PRL submission LJ12135, A Cosmic Titanic: BigBang Cosmology Unravels Upon Discovery of Serious Flaws in Its Foundational Expansion Redshift Assumption, by their claim that BB is an established theory while ignoring our paper's Titanic, namely, that BB's foundational spacetime expansion redshifts assumption has now been proven to be irrefutably false because it is contradicted by our seminal discovery that GPS operation unequivocally proves that GR effects do not produce in-flight photon wavelength changes demanded by this central assumption. This discovery causes the bigbang to collapse as quickly as did Ptolemaic cosmology when Copernicus discovered its foundational assumption was heliocentric, not geocentric. Additional evidence that something is amiss in PRL's treatment of LJ12135 comes from both Brown and EiC Gene Spouse agreeing to meet at my exhibit during last year's Atlanta APS to discuss this cover-up issue. Sprouse kept his commitment; Brown didn't. Question: If Brown could have refuted my claim of a cover-up, why didn't he come to present it before Gene Sprouse? I am appealing LJ12135's rejection.

The BigBang theory—widely regarded as the leading explanation for the origin of the universe—posits that space and time sprang into being about 14 billion years ago in a hot, expanding fireball of nearly infinite density. Over the last three decades the theory has been repeatedly revised to address such issues as how galaxies and stars first formed and why the expansion of the universe is speeding up today. Furthermore, an explanation has yet to be found for what caused the BigBang in the first place. In Endless Universe, Paul J. Steinhardt and Neil Turok, both distinguished theoretical physicists, present a bold new cosmology. Steinhardt and Turok “contend that what we think of as the moment of creation was simply part of an infinite cycle of titanic collisions between our universe and a parallel world” (Discover). They recount the remarkable developments in astronomy, particle physics, and superstring theory that form the basis for their groundbreaking “Cyclic Universe” theory. According to t...

A few moments after the big-bang matter an antimatter existed in the same quantities. Today the universe seems to be exclusively composed of matter. Nature prefers matter to antimatter but scientists do not know why. Experimental results from Babar and Belle experiments have confirmed the existence of CP violation in quark systems. This article draws the story of the quest for symmetry violation since the discovery of P violation in cobalt decay in the end of the fifties. Our understanding of CP violation is by far insufficient for explaining the matter-antimatter imbalance and may be we will have to admit that CP violation might concern other systems like neutrinos or super-symmetric particles. (A.C.)

Quarks, Leptons and The BigBang, Third Edition, is a clear, readable and self-contained introduction to particle physics and related areas of cosmology. It bridges the gap between non-technical popular accounts and textbooks for advanced students. The book concentrates on presenting the subject from the modern perspective of quarks, leptons and the forces between them. This book will be of interest to students, teachers and general science readers interested in fundamental ideas of modern physics. This edition brings the book completely up to date by including advances in particle physics and cosmology, such as the discovery of the Higgs boson, the LIGO gravitational wave discovery and the WMAP and PLANCK results.

The predictions of the standard big-bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) theory depend on the astrophysical nuclear reaction rates and on additional three parameters, the number of flavours of light neutrinos, the neutron lifetime and the baryon-to-photon ratio in the uni- verse. The effect of the modification of thirty-five reaction rates on light element abundance yields in BBN was investigated earlier by us. In the present work we have replaced the neutron lifetime, baryon-to-photon ratio by the most recent values and further modified 3 He( 4 He,γ) 7 Be reaction rate which is used directly for estimating the formation of 7 Li as a result of β + decay by the most recent equation. We find that these modifications reduce the calculated abundance of 7 Li by ∼ 12%

Bigbang nucleosynthesis (BBN) plays an important role in the standard hot bigbang cosmology. BBN theory is used to predict the primordial abundances of the lightest elements, hydrogen, helium and lithium. Comparison between the predicted and observationally determined light element abundances provides a general test of concordance and can be used to fix the baryon content in the universe. Measurements of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropies now supplant BBN as the premier baryometer, especially with the latest results from the WMAP satellite. With the WMAP baryon density, the test of concordance can be made even more precise. Any disagreement between theory predictions and observations requires careful discussion. Several possibilities exist to explain discrepancies; (1) observational systematics (either physical or technical) may not be properly treated in determining primordial light element abundances (2) nuclear inputs that determine the BBN predictions may have unknown systematics or may be incomplete, and (3) physics beyond that included in the standard BBN scenario may need to be included in the theory calculation. Before we can be absolutely sure new physics is warranted, points (1) and (2) must be addressed and ruled out. All of these scenarios rely on experimental or observational data to make definitive statements of their applicability and range of validity, which currently is not at the level necessary to discern between these possibilities with high confidence. Thus, new light element abundance observations and nuclear experiments are needed to probe these further. Assuming concordance is established, one can use the light element observations to explore the evolution from their primordial values. This can provide useful information on stellar evolution, cosmic rays and other nuclear astrophysics. When combined with detailed models, BBN, the CMB anisotropy and nuclear astrophysics can provide us with information about the populations

Two nonstandard scenarios for pregalactic synthesis of the light elements ( 2 H, 3 He, 4 He, and 7 Li) are developed. Bigbang photosynthesis occurs if energetic photons, produced by the decay of massive neutrinos or gravitinos, partially photodisintegrate 4 He (formed in the standard hot bigbang) to produce 2 H and 3 He. In this case, primordial nucleosynthesis no longer constrains the baryon density of the universe, or the number of neutrino species. Alternatively, one may dispense partially or completely with the hot bigbang and produce the light elements by bombardment of primordial gas, provided that 4 He is synthesized by a later generation of massive stars

Two nonstandard scenarios for pregalactic synthesis of the light elements (H-2, He-3, He-4, and Li-7) are developed. Bigbang photosynthesis occurs if energetic photons, produced by the decay of massive neutrinos or gravitinos, partially photodisintegrate He-4 (formed in the standard hot bigbang) to produce H-2 and He-3. In this case, primordial nucleosynthesis no longer constrains the baryon density of the universe, or the number of neutrino species. Alternatively, one may dispense partially or completely with the hot bigbang and produce the light elements by bombardment of primordial gas, provided that He-4 is synthesized by a later generation of massive stars.

We point out a new phenomenon which seems to be generic in 4d effective theories of scalar fields coupled to Einstein gravity, when applied to cosmology. A lift of such theories to a Weyl-invariant extension allows one to define classical evolution through cosmological singularities unambiguously, and hence construct geodesically complete background spacetimes. An attractor mechanism ensures that, at the level of the effective theory, generic solutions undergo a big crunch/bigbang transition by contracting to zero size, passing through a brief antigravity phase, shrinking to zero size again, and re-emerging into an expanding normal gravity phase. The result may be useful for the construction of complete bouncing cosmologies like the cyclic model.

We point out a new phenomenon which seems to be generic in 4d effective theories of scalar fields coupled to Einstein gravity, when applied to cosmology. A lift of such theories to a Weyl-invariant extension allows one to define classical evolution through cosmological singularities unambiguously, and hence construct geodesically complete background spacetimes. An attractor mechanism ensures that, at the level of the effective theory, generic solutions undergo a big crunch/bigbang transition by contracting to zero size, passing through a brief antigravity phase, shrinking to zero size again, and re-emerging into an expanding normal gravity phase. The result may be useful for the construction of complete bouncing cosmologies like the cyclic model.

We point out a new phenomenon which seems to be generic in 4d effective theories of scalar fields coupled to Einstein gravity, when applied to cosmology. A lift of such theories to a Weyl-invariant extension allows one to define classical evolution through cosmological singularities unambiguously, and hence construct geodesically complete background spacetimes. An attractor mechanism ensures that, at the level of the effective theory, generic solutions undergo a big crunch/bigbang transition by contracting to zero size, passing through a brief antigravity phase, shrinking to zero size again, and re-emerging into an expanding normal gravity phase. The result may be useful for the construction of complete bouncing cosmologies like the cyclic model.

We solve for the cosmological perturbations in a five-dimensional background consisting of two separating or colliding boundary branes, as an expansion in the collision speed V divided by the speed of light c. Our solution permits a detailed check of the validity of four-dimensional effective theory in the vicinity of the event corresponding to the big crunch/bigbang singularity. We show that the four-dimensional description fails at the first nontrivial order in (V/c) 2 . At this order, there is nontrivial mixing of the two relevant four-dimensional perturbation modes (the growing and decaying modes) as the boundary branes move from the narrowly separated limit described by Kaluza-Klein theory to the well-separated limit where gravity is confined to the positive-tension brane. We comment on the cosmological significance of the result and compute other quantities of interest in five-dimensional cosmological scenarios

The most powerful Internet, star of the present, goes for another challenge that mixes past and future: to join the scientific world community to clarify the orígines of the universe, the BigBang. (1/2 page)

"Scientists at the proton-proton Large Hadron Collider (LHC) particle accelerator and collider will postpone a test that could help solve the mystery of what happened a few nanoseconds after the BigBang." (1 page)

...) aspire to membership. Led by the Baltic states, these nine countries have signed the May 2000 Vilnius Declaration, advocating the admission of all nine aspirants simultaneously, a so called "bigbang" approach to the next...

The popular myth according to which the Universe - and time itself - started with/near a bigbang singularity is questioned. After claiming that the two main puzzles of standard cosmology allow for two possible logical answers, I will argue that superstring theory strongly favours the the pre-bigbang (PBB) alternative. I will then explain why PBB inflation is as generic as classical gravitational collapse, and why, as a result of symmetries in the latter problem, recent fine-tuning objections to the PBB scenario are unfounded. A hot bigbang state naturally results from the powerful amplification of vacuum quantum fluctuations before the bigbang, a phenomenon whose observable consequences will be briefly summarized. (author)

"A premier nuclear physics institute here has come up with India's first indigenously designed microchip that will facilitate research on the BigBang theory in Geneva's CERN, the world's largest particle physics laboratory." (1 page)

Scientists at CERN have opened an antimatter factory, the Antiproton Decelerator. They hope to discover why, in the BigBang, the amount of matter and antimatter produced was not equal, so allowing the universe to exist at all (1 page).

The equations of motion and junction conditions for a gravidilaton brane world scenario are studied in the string frame. It is shown that they allow Kasner-like solutions on the brane, which makes the dynamics of the brane very similar to the low curvature phase of pre-big-bang cosmology. Analogies and differences of this scenario with the Randall-Sundrum one and with the standard bulk pre-big-bang dynamics are also discussed

We analyse numerically the onset of pre-bigbang inflation in an inhomogeneous, spherically symmetric Universe. Adding a small dilatonic perturbation to a trivial (Milne) background, we find that suitable regions of space undergo dilaton-driven inflation and quickly become spatially flat ($\\Omega \\to 1$). Numerical calculations are pushed close enough to the bigbang singularity to allow cross checks against previously proposed analytic asymptotic solutions.

Extrapolation of observational data on the abundances of D, 3 He, 4 He and 7 Li in various astrophysical objects to derive their primordial values leads to results in good accordance with calculations from Standard BigBang nucleosynthesis theory over 9 orders of magnitude in abundance and has led to the following predictions: There are not more than 3 light neutrino species or other particles contributing relativistic degrees of freedom at temperatures of a few MeV; the neutron half-life is less than 10.4 minutes; and baryonic dark matter exists, but not in sufficient quantities to close the universe. (The first two of these predictions have been confirmed by laboratory experiments). Searches for a primordial component in the abundance of any other element heavier than hydrogen - such as might have resulted from inhomogeneities due to phase transitions in the early universe, notably the quark-hadron transition - have so far proved completely negative. The primordial helium abundance is found from observations of extragalactic ionized hydrogen clouds to be close to 0.230 by mass, a little lower than predicted, but the difference does not exceed likely errors. (orig.)

For a few fractions of a second after the Big-Bang, the temperature of the universe reached several thousands milliards degrees and till now quarks and gluons have been thought to be dissociated in a kind of primordial plasma but recent experimental results from the RHIC (relativistic heavy ions collider in Brookhaven) show that the quark and gluon plasma flows like a fluid and that the interaction between quarks generates that flow. Another feature of the quark and gluon plasma is an ability to behave like an almost perfect gas: it shows very low viscosity and reaches thermal equilibrium very quickly. Alice, a huge particle detection system that will equip the future LHC (large hadron collider in CERN), will shed light on an energy range that has been scarcely touched by RHIC. Confirmation of RHIC results is expected but the discovery of totally new phenomena like the creation of mini black holes or the existence of extra spatial dimensions remains possible. Another issue concerns nucleosynthesis and the problem that nuclear models predict a ratio of helium 7 in stars 3 times as high as what is really found in the oldest stars of our galaxy. (A.C.)

We investigate the physics of dark matter models featuring composite bound states carrying a large conserved dark “nucleon” number. The properties of sufficiently large dark nuclei may obey simple scaling laws, and we find that this scaling can determine the number distribution of nuclei resulting from BigBang Dark Nucleosynthesis. For plausible models of asymmetric dark matter, dark nuclei of large nucleon number, e.g. ≳10 8 , may be synthesised, with the number distribution taking one of two characteristic forms. If small-nucleon-number fusions are sufficiently fast, the distribution of dark nuclei takes on a logarithmically-peaked, universal form, independent of many details of the initial conditions and small-number interactions. In the case of a substantial bottleneck to nucleosynthesis for small dark nuclei, we find the surprising result that even larger nuclei, with size ≫10 8 , are often finally synthesised, again with a simple number distribution. We briefly discuss the constraints arising from the novel dark sector energetics, and the extended set of (often parametrically light) dark sector states that can occur in complete models of nuclear dark matter. The physics of the coherent enhancement of direct detection signals, the nature of the accompanying dark-sector form factors, and the possible modifications to astrophysical processes are discussed in detail in a companion paper.

We examine bigbang nucleosynthesis (BBN) in the case of inhomogeneous neutrino degeneracy, in the limit where the fluctuations are sufficiently small on large length scales that the present-day element abundances are homogeneous. We consider two representative cases: degeneracy of the electron neutrino alone and equal chemical potentials for all three neutrinos. We use a linear programming method to constrain an arbitrary distribution of the chemical potentials. For the current set of (highly restrictive) limits on the primordial element abundances, homogeneous neutrino degeneracy barely changes the allowed range of the baryon-to-photon ratio η. Inhomogeneous degeneracy allows for little change in the lower bound on η, but the upper bound in this case can be as large as η=1.1x10 -8 (only ν e degeneracy) or η=1.0x10 -9 (equal degeneracies for all three neutrinos). For the case of inhomogeneous neutrino degeneracy, we show that there is no BBN upper bound on the neutrino energy density, which is bounded in this case only by limits from structure formation and the cosmic microwave background. (c) 2000 The American Physical Society

We find pp wave solutions in string theory with null-like linear dilatons. These provide toy models of bigbang cosmologies. We formulate matrix string theory in these backgrounds. Near the bigbang 'singularity', the string theory becomes strongly coupled but the Yang-Mills description of the matrix string is weakly coupled. The presence of a second length scale allows us to focus on a specific class of non-Abelian configurations, viz. fuzzy cylinders, for a suitable regime of parameters. We show that, for a class of pp waves, fuzzy cylinders which start out big at early times dynamically shrink into usual strings at sufficiently late times

Terms such as "expanding Universe", "bigbang", and "initial singularity", are nowadays part of our common language. The idea that the Universe we observe today originated from an enormous explosion (bigbang) is now well known and widely accepted, at all levels, in modern popular culture. But what happens to the Universe before the bigbang? And would it make any sense at all to ask such a question? In fact, recent progress in theoretical physics, and in particular in String Theory, suggests answers to the above questions, providing us with mathematical tools able in principle to reconstruct the history of the Universe even for times before the bigbang. In the emerging cosmological scenario the Universe, at the epoch of the bigbang, instead of being a "new born baby" was actually a rather "aged" creature in the middle of its possibly infinitely enduring evolution. The aim of this book is to convey this picture in non-technical language accessibile also to non-specialists. The author, himself a leading cosm...

The ATLAS platform of the Passport to the BigBang circuit has been relocated in front of the CERN Reception. The ATLAS platform of the Passport to the BigBang, outside the CERN Reception building. The Passport to the BigBang platform of the ATLAS Experiment has been moved in front of the CERN Reception to make it more visible and accessible. It had to be dismantled and moved from its previous location in the garden of the Globe of Science and Innovation due to the major refurbishment work in progress on the Globe, and is now fully operational in its new location on the other side of the road, in the Main Reception car-park. The Passport to the BigBang circuit, inaugurated in 2013, comprises ten platforms installed in front of ten CERN sites and aims to help local residents and visitors to the region understand CERN's research. Dedicated Passport to the BigBang flyers, containing all necessary information and riddles for you to solve, are available at the CERN Rec...

The recent search for a stochastic background of gravitational waves with LIGO interferometers has produced a new upper bound on the amplitude of this background in the 100 Hz region. We investigate the implications of the current and future LIGO results on pre-big-bang models of the early Universe, determining the exclusion regions in the parameter space of the minimal pre-big-bang scenario. Although the current LIGO reach is still weaker than the indirect bound from bigbang nucleosynthesis, future runs by LIGO, in the coming year, and by Advanced LIGO (∼2009) should further constrain the parameter space, and in some parts surpass the BigBang nucleosynthesis bound. It will be more difficult to constrain the parameter space in nonminimal pre-bigbang models, which are characterized by multiple cosmological phases in the yet not well understood stringy phase, and where the higher-order curvature and/or quantum-loop corrections in the string effective action should be included

and parameters? Can one conceive of a completion of the scenario which resolves the bigbang singularity and explains the dark energy now coming to dominate? Are we forced to resort to anthropic explanations? In this talk, I will develop an alternate picture, in which the bigbang singularity is resolved and in which the value of the dark energy might be fixed by physical processes. The key is a resolution of the singularity. Using a combination of arguments,involving M theory and holography as well as analytic continuation in time within the low energy effective theory, I argue that there is a unique way to match cosmic evolution across the bigbang singularity. The latter is no longer the beginning of time but is instead the gateway to an eternal, cyclical universe. If time permits, I shall describe new work c...

Although it has wide support amongst cosmologists, the bigbang theory of the origin of the Universe is brought into question in this article because of several recent observations. The large red shift observed in quasars does not fit with Hubble's Law which is so successful for galaxies. Some quasars appear to be linked to companion galaxies by filaments and, again, anomalous red shifts have been observed. The cosmic microwave background, or relic radiation, seems to be too uniform to fit with the bigbang model. Lastly, the dark matter, necessary to explain the coalescing of galaxies and clusters, has yet to be established experimentally. A new alternative to the bigbang model is offered based on recent work on cosmic grains. (UK)

We show how to regularize the bigbang singularity in the presence of random perturbations modeled by Brownian motion using stochastic methods. We prove that the physical variables in a contracting universe dominated by a scalar field can be continuously and uniquely extended through the bigbang as a function of time to an expanding universe only for a discrete set of values of the equation of state satisfying special co-prime number conditions. This result significantly generalizes a previous result (Xue and Belbruno 2014 Class. Quantum Grav. 31 165002) that did not model random perturbations. This result implies that the extension from a contracting to an expanding universe for the discrete set of co-prime equation of state is robust, which is a surprising result. Implications for a purely expanding universe are discussed, such as a non-smooth, randomly varying scale factor near the bigbang.

We analyze a general mechanism for producing a nearly scale-invariant spectrum of cosmological curvature perturbations during a contracting phase preceding a bigbang, which can be entirely described using 4D effective field theory. The mechanism, based on first producing entropic perturbations and then converting them to curvature perturbations, can be naturally incorporated in cyclic and ekpyrotic models in which the bigbang is modeled as a brane collision, as well as other types of cosmological models with a pre-bigbang phase. We show that the correct perturbation amplitude can be obtained and that the spectral tilt n s tends to range from slightly blue to red, with 0.97 s <1.02 for the simplest models, a range compatible with current observations but shifted by a few percent towards the blue compared to the prediction of the simplest, large-field inflationary models

BigBang nucleosynthesis provides a unique probe of the early evolution of the Universe and a crucial test of the consistency of the standard hot BigBang cosmological model. Although the primordial abundances of 2 H, 3 He, 4 He, and 7 Li inferred from current observational data are in agreement with those predicted by BigBang nucleosynthesis, recent analysis has severely restricted the consistent range for the nucleon-to-photon ratio: 3.7 ≤ η 10 ≤ 4.0. Increased accuracy in the estimate of primordial 4 he and observations of Be and B in Pop II stars are offering new challenges to the standard model and suggest that no new light particles may be allowed (N ν BBN ≤ 3.0, where N ν is the number of equivalent light neutrinos). 23 refs

Although it has wide support amongst cosmologists, the bigbang theory of the origin of the Universe is brought into question in this article because of several recent observations. The large red shift observed in quasars does not fit with Hubble's Law which is so successful for galaxies. Some quasars appear to be linked to companion galaxies by filaments and, again, anomalous red shifts have been observed. The cosmic microwave background, or relic radiation, seems to be too uniform to fit with the bigbang model. Lastly, the dark matter, necessary to explain the coalescing of galaxies and clusters, has yet to be established experimentally. A new alternative to the bigbang model is offered based on recent work on cosmic grains. (UK).

The author presents an objection to Brown's (1981) analogy between a supernova and the BigBang. According to Brown an expanding spherical shell is quite similar to an ejected supernova shell. However, the fragmented shell of a supernova moves outward in pre-existing space. The force of repulsion which makes the fragments of the shell drift apart can be regarded as equivalent to the force of attraction of the rest of the universe on the supernova. By definition, such a force of attraction is absent in the case of the BigBang. Energy is supposed suddenly to appear simultaneously at all points throughout the universe at the time of the BigBang. As the universe expands, space expands too. In the relativistic cosmology, the universe cannot expand in pre-existing space. (Auth.)

The author presents an objection to Brown's (1981) analogy between a supernova and the BigBang. According to Brown an expanding spherical shell is quite similar to an ejected supernova shell. However, the fragmented shell of a supernova moves outward in pre-existing space. The force of repulsion which makes the fragments of the shell drift apart can be regarded as equivalent to the force of attraction of the rest of the universe on the supernova. By definition, such a force of attraction is absent in the case of the BigBang. Energy is supposed suddenly to appear simultaneously at all points throughout the universe at the time of the BigBang. As the universe expands, space expands too. In the relativistic cosmology, the universe cannot expand in pre-existing space.

Primordial nucleosynthesis remains as one of the pillars of modern cosmology. It is the testing ground upon which many cosmological models must ultimately rest. It is our only probe of the universe during the important radiation-dominated epoch in the first few minutes of cosmic expansion. This paper reviews the basic equations of space-time, cosmology, and bigbang nucleosynthesis. We also summarize the current state of observational constraints on primordial abundances along with the key nuclear reactions and their uncertainties. We summarize which nuclear measurements are most crucial during the bigbang. We also review various cosmological models and their constraints. In particular, we analyze the constraints that bigbang nucleosynthesis places upon the possible time variation of fundamental constants, along with constraints on the nature and origin of dark matter and dark energy, long-lived supersymmetric particles, gravity waves, and the primordial magnetic field.

The BigBang may be discussed most easily in analogy with an expanding spherical shell. An expanding spherical shell, in turn, is quite similar to an ejected supernova shell. In both the BigBang and the supernova, fragmentation is postulated to occur, where each fragment of the universe becomes a galaxy, and each fragment of supernova shell becomes a solar system. By supporting the presence of shearing flow at the time of fragmentation, a model has been constructed to examine the results in both cases. It has been shown that the model produces a good description of reality on both the galactic and solar system scales. (Auth.)

Cosmological phase transition can create strongly inhomogeneous baryon density distribution. Inhomogeneous big-bang model for primordial nucleosynthesis allows higher universal mass density parameter of baryons than the standard model does, which is marginally consistent with recent astronomical suggestion that some kind of dark matter is made of baryons. Enhanced heavy-element abundances in halo dwarfs is shown to be an observational signature for the inhomogeneous big-bang model. The studies of radioactive nuclear reactions help predict the theoretical abundances of these elements more precisely. (author). 53 refs., 8 figs

The framework of baryon-symmetric big-bang cosmology offers the greatest potential for deducing the evolution of the universe as a consequence of physical laws and processes with the minimum number of arbitrary assumptions as to initial conditions in the big-bang. In addition, it offers the possibility of explaining the photon-baryon ratio in the universe and how galaxies and galaxy clusters are formed, and also provides the only acceptable explanation at present for the origin of the cosmic gamma ray background radiation.

Nonstandard bigbang nucleosynthesis leads to the production of C-14. The further reaction path depends on the depletion of C-14 by either photon, alpha, or neutron capture reactions. The nucleus C-14 is of particular importance in these scenarios because it forms a bottleneck for the production of heavier nuclei A greater than 14. The reaction rates of all three capture reactions at bigbang conditions are discussed, and it is shown that the resulting reaction path, leading to the production of heavier elements, is dominated by the (p, gamma) and (n, gamma) rates, contrary to earlier suggestions.

We investigate the constraints that can be set from bigbang nucleosynthesis on two classes of models: extended quintessence and scalar-tensor theories of gravity in which the equivalence principle between standard matter and dark matter is violated. In the latter case, and for a massless dilaton with quadratic couplings, the phase space of theories is investigated. We delineate those theories where attraction toward general relativity occurs. It is shown that bigbang nucleosynthesis sets more stringent constraints than those obtained from Solar System tests.

Professor Brian Cox visits Geneva to take a look around CERN's Large Hadron Collider before the vast, 27km long machine is sealed off and a simulation experiment begins to try to create the conditions that existed a billionth of a second after the BigBang. Cox is joined by fellow scientists, including CERN theorist John Ellis and Nobel Laureate Leon Lederman from Fermilab, who hope that the LHC will change our understanding of the early Universe and solve some of its mysteries. The BigBang Machine will be presented on Friday, 15 October from 13:00 to 14:00 in the Council Chamber, Bldg.503 Language: English

Notion of the BigBang in Data was introduced, when it was observed that the quantity of data grows very fast and the speed of this growth rises with time. This is parallel to the BigBang of the Universe which expands and the speed of the expansion is the larger the farther the object is, and the expansion is isotropic. We observed another expansion in data embedded in metric space. We found that when distances in data space are polynomially expanded with a proper exponent, the space around ...

We investigate the constraints that can be set from bigbang nucleosynthesis on two classes of models: extended quintessence and scalar-tensor theories of gravity in which the equivalence principle between standard matter and dark matter is violated. In the latter case, and for a massless dilaton with quadratic couplings, the phase space of theories is investigated. We delineate those theories where attraction toward general relativity occurs. It is shown that bigbang nucleosynthesis sets more stringent constraints than those obtained from Solar System tests.

The abundances of light elements based on the bigbang nucleosynthesis model are calculated using the Tsallis non-extensive statistics. The impact of the variation of the non-extensive parameter q from the unity value is compared to observations and to the abundance yields from the standard bigbang model. We find large differences between the reaction rates and the abundance of light elements calculated with the extensive and the non-extensive statistics. We found that the observations are consistent with a non-extensive parameter q = 1 - 0.12 +0.05 , indicating that a large deviation from the Boltzmann-Gibbs statistics (q = 1) is highly unlikely.

BigBang, mes ancêtres et moi, by Franco-German TV producer ARTE (2009) What do we know about the origins of the world today? This documentary presents a voyage into the mystery of these origins, accompanied by passionate scientists such as paleoanthropologist Pascal Picq, astrophysicist Hubert Reeves, physicist Etienne Klein and quantum gravity theorist Abhay Ashtekar. Organized around three key moments – the birth of the Universe, the appearance of life and the origins of mankind – this investigation takes us to various research areas around the world, including the large underground particle accelerator at CERN. The German version of this film, BigBang im Labor, will be presented on 1st October. BigBang, mes ancêtres et moi will be shown on Friday, 24 September from 13:00 to 14:00 in room 222-R-001 Language: French BigBang im Labor will be shown on Friday, 1 October from 13:00 to 14:00 in the Main Auditorium Language : German &nbs...

Matt Visser has studied tiny wormholes, which may be produced on a subatomic scale by quantum fluctuations in the energy of the vacuum. He believes these quantum wormholes could change our picture of the origin of the Universe in the bigbang (1/2 p)

? and, more importantly, what factors allowed specific actors to provide leadership in a given context? These conclusions provide a major step forward in the literature on the history-making bargains in the EU, allowing us to answer with more confidence the question of which actors have guided the big...... bangs in the European integration process in the past two decades, and why. ...

In our science for non-science majors course "21st Century Physics," we investigate modern "Hubble plots" (plots of velocity versus distance for deep space objects) in order to discuss the BigBang, dark matter, and dark energy. There are two potential challenges that our students face when encountering these topics for the…

The BigBang: UK Young Scientists' and Engineers' Fair is an annual three-day event designed to promote science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) careers to young people aged 7-19 through experiential learning. It is supported by stakeholders from business and industry, government and the community, and brings together people from various…

We consider the pre-bigbang scenario with a massive axion field which starts to dominate energy density when oscillating in an instanton-induced potential and subsequently reheats the universe as it decays into photons, thus creating adiabatic CMB perturbations. We find that the fluctuations...

There are two major strategies to implementing an EMR: the big-bang approach and the phased, or incremental, approach. Each strategy has pros and cons that must be considered. This article discusses these approaches and the risks and benefits of each as well as some training strategies that can be used with either approach.

This paper analyses the linguistic construction of the televisual character Sheldon--the "main nerd" in the sitcom "The BigBang Theory" (CBS, 2007-), approaching this construction of character through both computerised and "manual" linguistic analysis. More specifically, a computer analysis of dialogue (using concordances and keyword analysis) in…

We discuss a simple cosmological model derived from M-theory. Three assumptions lead naturally to a pre-bigbang scenario: (a) 11-dimensional supergravity describes the low-energy world; (b) non-gravitational fields live on a three-dimensional brane; and (c) asymptotically past triviality.

"First tests in a scientific project aimed at solving mysteries of the universe and the "BigBang" which created it have been put off from November to late april or early May next year, an official said yesterday." (2/3 page)

Although the scientists assure that the Universe was created from great explosion or BigBang, that gave origin to the matter which we know today - including the alive beings - What happened after this strong snap is still a mystery regarding the formation of the cosmos. (1 page)

The United States has recently launched a satellite solely dedicated to cosmology in an attempt to provide insight into the early formation of the Universe. The Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) satellite is producing astonishing precise data which supports the BigBang theory of the Universe's origins. Continued analysis of COBE data may provide clues as to how stars and galaxies formed. (UK)

We introduce some algebraic geometric models in cosmology related to the ''boundaries'' of space-time: BigBang, Mixmaster Universe, Penrose's crossovers between aeons. We suggest to model the kinematics of BigBang using the algebraic geometric (or analytic) blow up of a point x. This creates a boundary which consists of the projective space of tangent directions to x and possibly of the light cone of x. We argue that time on the boundary undergoes the Wick rotation and becomes purely imaginary. The Mixmaster (Bianchi IX) model of the early history of the universe is neatly explained in this picture by postulating that the reverse Wick rotation follows a hyperbolic geodesic connecting imaginary time axis to the real one. Penrose's idea to see the BigBang as a sign of crossover from ''the end of previous aeon'' of the expanding and cooling Universe to the ''beginning of the next aeon'' is interpreted as an identification of a natural boundary of Minkowski space at infinity with the BigBang boundary.

How can a universe coming from a point-like bigbang event have infinite spatial extension? It is shown that the relativity of simultaneity is essential in answering this question. Space is finite as defined by the simultaneity of one observer, but it may be infinite as defined by the simultaneity of all the clocks participating in the Hubble flow.

How can a universe coming from a point-like bigbang event have infinite spatial extension? It is shown that the relativity of simultaneity is essential in answering this question. Space is finite as defined by the simultaneity of one observer, but it may be infinite as defined by the simultaneity of all the clocks participating in the Hubble flow

"In a 17-ile circular tunnel curving beneath the Swiss-French border, scientists are poised to recreate the universe's first trillionth of a second. The aim of the audacious undertaking is to solve one of the most perturbing puzzles of physics: How did matter attain mass and form the cosmos? (2 pages)

Hundred meters under the Pays de Gex, at the end of July, billions of particles are going to be throwed at 99,99% of the speed of the light to recreate the conditions having existed at the origin of the Universe. (1 page)

We study big-crunch-big-bang cosmologies that correspond to exact world-sheet superconformal field theories of type II strings. The string theory spacetime contains a big crunch and a bigbang cosmology, as well as additional 'whisker' asymptotic and intermediate regions. Within the context of free string theory, we compute, unambiguously, the scalar fluctuation spectrum in all regions of spacetime. Generically, the big crunch fluctuation spectrum is altered while passing through the bounce singularity. The change in the spectrum is characterized by a function Δ, which is momentum and time dependent. We compute Δ explicitly and demonstrate that it arises from the whisker regions. The whiskers are also shown to lead to 'entanglement' entropy in the bigbang region. Finally, in the Milne orbifold limit of our superconformal vacua, we show that Δ→1 and, hence, the fluctuation spectrum is unaltered by the big-crunch-big-bang singularity. We comment on, but do not attempt to resolve, subtleties related to gravitational back reaction and light winding modes when interactions are taken into account

A variety of observations suggest that the universe had a hot dense origin and that the pregalactic composition of the universe was determined by nuclear reactions that occurred in the first few minutes. There is no unique hot BigBang theory, but the simplest version produces a primeval chemical composition that is in good qualitative agreement with the abundances deduced from observation. Whether or not any BigBang theory will provide quantitative agreement with observations depends on a variety of factors in elementary particle physics (number and masses of stable or long-lived particles, half-life of neutron, structure of grand unified theories) and from observational astronomy (present mean baryon density of the universe, the Hubble constant and deceleration parameter). The influence of these factors on the abundances is discussed, as is the effect of departures from homogeneity and isotropy in the early universe.

BigBang nucleosynthesis (BBNS) theory is sketched, indicating the dependence of primordial abundances of D, 3 He, 4 He and 7 Li on the mean baryonic density of the universe and the dependence of 4 He on the number of neutrino families and the neutron half-life. Observational data and inferred primordial abundances of these elements are reviewed and shown to be consistent (within errors) either with standard BBNS in a homogeneous universe about 100 seconds after the BigBang or with moderately inhomogeneous BBNS models resulting from earlier phase transitions like the quark-hadron transition if this is first order. However, models with closure density supplied by baryons are apparently ruled out. Finally, implications for the existence of baryonic and non-baryonic dark matter are briefly discussed. (orig.)

We point out that the existence of metastable, τ>10 3 s, negatively charged electroweak-scale particles (X - ) alters the predictions for lithium and other primordial elemental abundances for A>4 via the formation of bound states with nuclei during bigbang nucleosynthesis. In particular, we show that the bound states of X - with helium, formed at temperatures of about T=10 8 K, lead to the catalytic enhancement of 6 Li production, which is 8 orders of magnitude more efficient than the standard channel. In particle physics models where subsequent decay of X - does not lead to large nonthermal bigbang nucleosynthesis effects, this directly translates to the level of sensitivity to the number density of long-lived X - particles (τ>10 5 s) relative to entropy of n X - /s -17 , which is one of the most stringent probes of electroweak scale remnants known to date

We point out that the existence of metastable, tau>10(3) s, negatively charged electroweak-scale particles (X-) alters the predictions for lithium and other primordial elemental abundances for A>4 via the formation of bound states with nuclei during bigbang nucleosynthesis. In particular, we show that the bound states of X- with helium, formed at temperatures of about T=10(8) K, lead to the catalytic enhancement of 6Li production, which is 8 orders of magnitude more efficient than the standard channel. In particle physics models where subsequent decay of X- does not lead to large nonthermal bigbang nucleosynthesis effects, this directly translates to the level of sensitivity to the number density of long-lived X- particles (tau>10(5) s) relative to entropy of nX-/s less, approximately <3x10(-17), which is one of the most stringent probes of electroweak scale remnants known to date.

Bigbang nucleosynthesis requires a fine balance between equations of state for photons and relativistic fermions. Several corrections to equation of state parameters arise from classical and quantum physics, which are derived here from a canonical perspective. In particular, loop quantum gravity allows one to compute quantum gravity corrections for Maxwell and Dirac fields. Although the classical actions are very different, quantum corrections to the equation of state are remarkably similar. To lowest order, these corrections take the form of an overall expansion-dependent multiplicative factor in the total density. We use these results, along with the predictions of bigbang nucleosynthesis, to place bounds on these corrections and especially the patch size of discrete quantum gravity states.

We study the effects of electron screening on nuclear reaction rates occurring during the big-bang nucleosynthesis epoch. The sensitivity of the predicted elemental abundances on electron screening is studied in detail. It is shown that electron screening does not produce noticeable results in the abundances unless the traditional Debye-Hueckel model for the treatment of electron screening in stellar environments is enhanced by several orders of magnitude. This work rules out electron screening as a relevant ingredient to big-bang nucleosynthesis, confirming a previous study [see Itoh et al., Astrophys. J. 488, 507 (1997)] and ruling out exotic possibilities for the treatment of screening beyond the mean-field theoretical approach.

Examples are given of spherically symmetric cosmological models containing space-sections with the following properties: at large values of the geometrically defined coordinate R, the mass is positive, while at small values of R, the mass is negative. The negative-mass region of spacetime has local properties similar to those of the negative-mass Schwarzschild solution. The bigbang in these models is partially spacelike and partially timelike, so the spacetimes do not obey the strong form of the cosmic censorship hypothesis. The timelike, negative-mass segments of the bigbang are unlimited sources of electromagnetic and gravitational radiation, and as such may be attractive as ''lagging core'' models of highly energetic astrophysical phenomena

A variety of observations suggest that the Universe had a hot dense origin and that the pregalactic composition of the Universe was determined by nuclear reactions that occurred in the first few minutes. There is no unique hot BigBang theory, but the simplest version produces a primeval chemical composition that is in good qualitative agreement with the abundances deduced from observation. Whether or not any BigBang theory will provide quantitative agreement with observations depends on a variety of factors in elementary particle physics (number and masses of stable or long-lived particles, half-life of neutron, structure of grand unified theories) and from observational astronomy (present mean baryon density of the Universe, the Hubble constant and deceleration parameter). The influence of these factors on the abundances is discussed, as is the effect of departures from homogeneity and isotropy in the early Universe. (author)

Simon Singh looks at the stories behind the discovery of 5 of the universe's most significant subatomic particles: the Electron, the Quark, the Anti-particle, the Neutrino and the "next particle". 3. The Anti-particle. It appears to be the stuff of science fiction. Associated with every elementary particle is an antiparticle which has the same mass and opposite charge. Should the two meet and combine, the result is annihilation - and a flash of light. Thanks to mysterious processes that occurred after the BigBang there are a vastly greater number of particles than anti-particles. So how could their elusive existence be proved? At CERN particle physicists are crashing together subatomic particles at incredibly high speeds to create antimatter, which they hope will finally reveal what happened at the precise moment of the BigBang to create the repertoire of elementary particles and antiparticles in existence today.

Primordial nucleosynthesis is one of the three evidences for the Big-Bang model together with the expansion of the Universe and the Cosmic Microwave Background. There is a good global agreement over a range of nine orders of magnitude between abundances of {sup 4}He, D, {sup 3}He and {sup 7}Li deduced from observations and calculated primordial nucleosynthesis. This comparison was used to determine the baryonic density of the Universe. For this purpose, it is now superseded by the analysis of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) radiation anisotropies. Big-Bang nucleosynthesis remains, nevertheless, a valuable tool to probe the physics of the early Universe. However, the yet unexplained, discrepancy between the calculated and observed lithium primordial abundances, has not been reduced, neither by recent nuclear physics experiments, nor by new observations.

Examples are given of spherically symmetric cosmological models containing space-sections with the following properties: at large values of the geometrically defined coordinate R, the mass is positive, while at small values of R, the mass is negative. The negative-mass region of spacetime has local properties similar to those of the negative-mass Schwarzschild solution. The bigbang in these models is partially spacelike and partially timelike, so the spacetimes do not obey the strong form of the cosmic censorship hypothesis. The timelike, negative-mass segments of the bigbang are unlimited sources of electromagnetic and gravitational radiation, and as such may be attractive as ''lagging core'' models of highly energetic astrophysical phenomena. (AIP)

The collision of two gold nuclei releasing 10 x 10 to the power 12 electron volts of energy, marked the debut of the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider. Over the next few weeks, scientists hope to increase the accelerator's power to generate collisions 40 x 10 to the power 12 eVs of energy to simulate the conditions that existed immediately after the BigBang (1 page).

This paper uses ideas developed recently in semiclassical quantum gravity to argue that many qualitative features of the hot bigbang generally assumed in cosmology may be explained by the hypothesis that, interpreted semiclassically, the universe tunnelled into being via a quantum fluctuation from a small (Planck-sized), topologically complex entity to a topologically trivial entity (like a Friedmann universe) that rapidly grew to a more macroscopic size

We address the emerging discrepancy between the BigBang Nucleosynthesis data and standard cosmology, which asks for a bit longer evolution time. If this effect is real, one possible implication (in a framework of brane cosmology model) is that there is a 'dark radiation' component which is negative and makes few percents of ordinary matter density. If so, all scales of this model can be fixed, provided brane-to-bulk leakage problem is solved. (authors)

We address the emerging discrepancy between the BigBang Nucleosynthesis data and standard cosmology, which asks for a bit longer evolution time. If this effect is real, one possible implication (in a framework of brane cosmology model) is that there is a 'dark radiation' component which is negative and makes few percents of ordinary matter density. If so, all scales of this model can be fixed, provided brane-to-bulk leakage problem is solved. (authors)

We consider the impact of catalyzed bigbang nucleosynthesis on theories with a gravitino lightest superparticle and a charged slepton next-to-lightest superparticle. In models where the gravitino to gaugino mass ratio is bounded from below, such as gaugino-mediated supersymmetry breaking, we derive a lower bound on the gaugino mass parameter m{sub 1/2}. As a concrete example, we determine the parameter space of gaugino mediation that is compatible with all cosmological constraints.

We consider the impact of catalyzed bigbang nucleosynthesis on theories with a gravitino lightest superparticle and a charged slepton next-to-lightest superparticle. In models where the gravitino to gaugino mass ratio is bounded from below, such as gaugino-mediated supersymmetry breaking, we derive a lower bound on the gaugino mass parameter m1/2. As a concrete example, we determine the parameter space of gaugino mediation that is compatible with all cosmological constraints.

The observed primordial He/sup 4/ abundance imposes astrophysical constraints on the possible departures from radiation dominance in the bigbang universe during the neutron hardening era (at epoch t roughly-equal1 sec). Limits are obtained which, along with the data on the spectrum of the cosmic background radiation, practically rule out any stages of superheavy stable-particle dominance in the era 1< or approx. =t<10/sup 10/ sec, thereby setting restrictions on current elementary-particle theories.

This paper uses ideas developed recently in semiclassical quantum gravity to argue that many qualitative features of the hot bigbang generally assumed in cosmology may be explained by the hypothesis that, interpreted semiclassically, the universe tunnelled into being via a quantum fluctuation from a small (Planck-sized), topologically complex entity to a topologically trivial entity (like a Friedmann universe) that rapidly grew to a more macroscopic size.

The United States has recently launched a satellite solely dedicated to cosmology in an attempt to provide insight into the early formation of the Universe. The Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) satellite is producing astonishing precise data which supports the BigBang theory of the Universe's origins. Continued analysis of COBE data may provide clues as to how stars and galaxies formed. (UK).

We consider the impact of catalyzed bigbang nucleosynthesis on theories with a gravitino lightest superparticle and a charged slepton next-to-lightest superparticle. In models where the gravitino to gaugino mass ratio is bounded from below, such as gaugino-mediated supersymmetry breaking, we derive a lower bound on the gaugino mass parameter m 1/2 . As a concrete example, we determine the parameter space of gaugino mediation that is compatible with all cosmological constraints

The Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) at the Brookhaven National Laboratory in the USA is a variable energy proton-proton and ion-ion collider that is the first accelerator capable of colliding heavy ions. RHIC was designed to do experiments that provide important information about the Standard Model of particle physics, Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD). QCD predicts that in the early part of the Universe just after the BigBang the world consisted of a Quark Gluon Plasma, a weakly interacting collection of quarks and gluons. At RHIC we can recreate the conditions of the early Universe by colliding heavy ions at 200 GeV. This paper will give a general overview of the physics motivation for studying the QGP, how our experiments are designed to study the QGP, what we have learned over the last 9 years, and what the future holds.

Full Text Available Studies on heavy ion collisions have discovered that tiny fireballs of a new phase of matter—quark gluon plasma (QGP—undergo an explosion, called the Little Bang. In spite of its small size, not only is it well described by hydrodynamics, but even small perturbations on top of the explosion turned out to be well described by hydrodynamical sound modes. The cosmological BigBang also went through phase transitions, related with Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD and electroweak/Higgs symmetry breaking, which are also expected to produce sounds. We discuss their subsequent evolution and hypothetical inverse acoustic cascade, amplifying the amplitude. Ultimately, the collision of two sound waves leads to the formation of one gravity waves. We briefly discuss how these gravity waves can be detected.

Studies of heavy ion collisions have discovered that tiny fireballs of new phase of matter -- quark gluon plasma (QGP) -- undergoes explosion, called the Little Bang. In spite of its small size, it is not only well described by hydrodynamics, but even small perturbations on top of the explosion turned to be well described by hydrodynamical sound modes. The cosmological BigBang also went through phase transitions, the QCD and electroweak ones, which are expected to produce sounds as well. We discuss their subsequent evolution and hypothetical inverse acoustic cascade, amplifying the amplitude. Ultimately, collision of two sound waves leads to formation of gravity waves, with the smallest wavelength. We briefly discuss how those can be detected.

With the exception of ZERO, the concept of BIGBANG is by far the most bizarre creation of the human mind. Three classical pillars of the BigBang model of the origin of the universe are generally thought to be: (i) The abundances of the light elements; (ii) the microwave back-ground radiation; and (iii) the change with cosmic epoch in the average properties of galaxies (both active and non-active types). Evidence is also mounting for redshift dependence of the intergalactic medium, as discussed elsewhere in this volume in detail. In this contribution, I endeavour to highlight a selection of recent advances pertaining to the third category. The widely different levels of confidence in the claimed observational constraints in the field of cosmology can be guaged from the following excerpts from two leading astrophysicists: "I would bet odds of 10 to 1 on the validity of the general 'hot BigBang' concept as a description of how our universe has evolved since it was around 1 sec. old" -M. Rees (1995), in 'Perspectives in Astrophysical Cosmology' CUP. "With the much more sensitive observations available today, no astrophysical property shows evidence of evolution, such as was claimed in the 1950s to disprove the Steady State theory" -F. Hoyle (1987), in 'Fifty years in cosmology', B. M. Birla Memorial Lecture, Hyderabad, India. The burgeoning multi-wavelength culture in astronomy has provided a tremendous boost to observational cosmology in recent years. We now proceed to illustrate this with a sequence of examples which reinforce the picture of an evolving universe. Also provided are some relevant details of the data used in these studies so that their scope can be independently judged by the readers.

Brief report on the Colloquium Spectroscopicum Internationale 1985, held in Garmisch-Partenkirchen (FRG). The opening lecture, ''From BigBang to Black Holes'', unfolded the current knowledge of the universe, whereas two thirds of the following 61 plenary lectures dealt with problems of atomic spectroscopy and the remaining papers with molecular spectroscopy. In 40 poster sessions 350 posters were briefly discussed, and the conference was accompanied by an exhibition of latest spectrometric equipment. Experimental methods were the centre of discussions of atomic spectroscopy experts, whereas in the field of moclecular spectroscopy issues such as standards for digitised spectra, databases and information exchange via data networks met with great interest. (RB) [de

The status of the inflationary model of the very early universe is summarized. In this model the universe supercools many orders of magnitude below the critical temperature of a grand unified theory phase transition, and in the process it expands by many orders of magnitude. The model can solve the monopole, horizon, and flatness problems of the standard hot big-bang cosmology, and at the same time it offers an explanation of the origin of all matter, energy, and entropy of the universe. There are still uncertainties concerning the mechanism which ends the inflationary era, but the new ending proposed by Linde and by Albrecht and Steinhardt appears very promising

We study the impact on the primordial abundances of light elements created by a variation of the quark masses at the time of BigBang nucleosynthesis (BBN). In order to navigate through the particle and nuclear physics required to connect quark masses to binding energies and reaction rates in a model-independent way, we use lattice QCD data and a hierarchy of effective field theories. We find that the measured 4 He abundances put a bound of -1% q /m q q /m q .

In the presence of a nonzero cosmological constant Λ, we classify the anisotropic cosmological models of the Kantowski--Sachs type by means of the quantities epsilon 2 0 , q 0 , summation 0 corresponding, respectively, to the relative root-mean-square deviation from isotropy, the deceleration parameter, and the density parameter of the perfect fluid at a given time t = t 0 . We obtain for Λ>0 a set of big-bang models of zero measure as well as a set of cosmological models of nonzero measure evolving toward the de Sitter solution

While the quality of some TV sitcoms can leave viewers feeling cheated out of 30 minutes of their lives, audiences and critics are raving about the science-themed US comedy The BigBang Theory. First shown on the CBS network in 2007, the series focuses on two brilliant postdoc physicists, Leonard and Sheldon, who are totally absorbed by science. Adhering to the stereotype, they also share a fanatical interest in science fiction, video-gaming and comic books, but unfortunately lack the social skills required to connect with their 20-something nonacademic contemporaries.

What has become the standard model in cosmology is described, and some highlights are presented of the now substantial range of evidence that most cosmologists believe convincingly establishes this model, the relativistic hot bigbang cosmology. It is shown that this model has yielded a set of interpretations and successful predictions that substantially outnumber the elements used in devising the theory, with no well-established empirical contradictions. Brief speculations are made on how the open puzzles and work in progress might affect future developments in this field.

In the recently proposed cosmological constant (CC) filter mechanism based on modified gravity in the Palatini formalism, gravity in the radiation, matter and late-time de Sitter eras is insensitive to energy sources with the equation of state -1. This implies that finite vacuum energy shifts from phase transitions are filtered out too. In this work, we investigate the CC filter model at very early times. We find that the initial bigbang singularity is replaced by a cosmic bounce, where the matter energy density and the curvature are finite. In a certain case, this finiteness can be already observed on the algebraic level. (paper)

We show that BigBang Nucleosynthesis (BBN) significantly constrains axion-like dark matter. The axion acts like an oscillating QCD θ angle that redshifts in the early Universe, increasing the neutron–proton mass difference at neutron freeze-out. An axion-like particle that couples too strongly to QCD results in the underproduction of {sup 4}He during BBN and is thus excluded. The BBN bound overlaps with much of the parameter space that would be covered by proposed searches for a time-varying neutron EDM. The QCD axion does not couple strongly enough to affect BBN.

Full Text Available We show that BigBang Nucleosynthesis (BBN significantly constrains axion-like dark matter. The axion acts like an oscillating QCD θ angle that redshifts in the early Universe, increasing the neutron–proton mass difference at neutron freeze-out. An axion-like particle that couples too strongly to QCD results in the underproduction of He4 during BBN and is thus excluded. The BBN bound overlaps with much of the parameter space that would be covered by proposed searches for a time-varying neutron EDM. The QCD axion does not couple strongly enough to affect BBN.

We show that BigBang Nucleosynthesis (BBN) significantly constrains axion-like dark matter. The axion acts like an oscillating QCD θ angle that redshifts in the early Universe, increasing the neutron–proton mass difference at neutron freeze-out. An axion-like particle that couples too strongly to QCD results in the underproduction of 4 He during BBN and is thus excluded. The BBN bound overlaps with much of the parameter space that would be covered by proposed searches for a time-varying neutron EDM. The QCD axion does not couple strongly enough to affect BBN

We show that BigBang Nucleosynthesis (BBN) significantly constrains axion-like dark matter. The axion acts like an oscillating QCD θ angle that redshifts in the early Universe, increasing the neutron-proton mass difference at neutron freeze-out. An axion-like particle that couples too strongly to QCD results in the underproduction of 4He during BBN and is thus excluded. The BBN bound overlaps with much of the parameter space that would be covered by proposed searches for a time-varying neutron EDM. The QCD axion does not couple strongly enough to affect BBN.

We provide a novel mechanism that resolves the bigbang singularity present in Friedman-Lemaitre-Robertson-Walker space-times without the need for ghost fields. Building on the fact that a four-fermion interaction arises in general relativity when fermions are covariantly coupled, we show that at early times the decrease in scale factor enhances the correlation between pairs of fermions. This enhancement leads to a BCS-like condensation of the fermions and opens a gap dynamically driving the Hubble parameter H to zero and results in a nonsingular bounce, at least in some special cases.

We analyze the big bounce transition of the quantum Friedmann-Robertson-Walker model in the setting of the nonstandard loop quantum cosmology (LQC). Elementary observables are used to quantize composite observables. The spectrum of the energy density operator is bounded and continuous. The spectrum of the volume operator is bounded from below and discrete. It has equally distant levels defining a quantum of the volume. The discreteness may imply a foamy structure of spacetime at a semiclassical level which may be detected in astro-cosmo observations. The nonstandard LQC method has a free parameter that should be fixed in some way to specify the big bounce transition.

The BigBang Theory and alternatives to the BigBang Theory as an explanation for the origin of the universe are discussed. The importance of the discovery of redshift, the percentage of hydrogen found in old stars, and the existence of a uniform sea of radiation are explained. (KR)

Important open questions in cosmology require a better understanding of the bigbang singularity. In string and matrix theories, light-like analogues of cosmological singularities (singular plane wave backgrounds) turn out to be particularly tractable. We give a status report on the current understanding of such light-like bigbang models, presenting both solved and open problems.

In string theory, the traditional picture of a Universe that emerges from the inflation of a very small and highly curved space-time patch is a possibility, not a necessity: quite different initial conditions are possible, and not necessarily unlikely. In particular, the duality symmetries of string theory suggest scenarios in which the Universe starts inflating from an initial state characterized by very small curvature and interactions. Such a state, being gravitationally unstable, will evolve towards higher curvature and coupling, until string-size effects and loop corrections make the Universe "bounce" into a standard, decreasing-curvature regime. In such a context, the hot bigbang of conventional cosmology is replaced by a "hot big bounce" in which the bouncing and heating mechanisms originate from the quantum production of particles in the high-curvature, large-coupling pre-bounce phase. Here we briefly summarize the main features of this inflationary scenario, proposed a quarter century ago. In its si...

We present a novel solution to the nature and formation of the initial state of the Universe. It derives from the physics of a generally covariant extension of matrix theory. We focus on the dynamical state space of this background-independent quantum theory of gravity and matter — an infinite-dimensional, complex, nonlinear Grassmannian. When this space is endowed with a Fubini-Study-like metric, the associated geodesic distance between any two of its points is zero. This striking mathematical result translates into a physical description of a hot, zero-entropy BigBang. The latter is then seen as a far-from-equilibrium, large-fluctuation-driven, metastable ordered transition — a "freezing by heating" jamming transition. Moreover, the subsequent unjamming transition could provide a mechanism for inflation while rejamming may model a Big Crunch, the final state of gravitational collapse.

Diffeomorphisms preserve spacetime singularities, whereas higher spin symmetries need not. Since three-dimensional de Sitter space has quotients that have big-bang/big-crunch singularities and since dS3-gravity can be written as an SL(2,C) Chern-Simons theory, we investigate SL(3,C) Chern-Simons theory as a higher-spin context in which these singularities might get resolved. As in the case of higher spin black holes in AdS3, the solutions are invariantly characterized by their holonomies. We show that the dS3 quotient singularity can be desingularized by an SL(3,C) gauge transformation that preserves the holonomy: this is a higher spin resolution the cosmological singularity. Our work deals exclusively with the bulk theory, and is independent of the subtleties involved in defining a CFT2 dual to dS3 in the sense of dS/CFT.

The first part of this paper contains a brief description of the beginnings of modern cosmology, which, the author will argue, was most likely born in the Year 1912. Some of the pieces of evidence presented here have emerged from recent research in the history of science, and are not usually shared with the general audiences in popular science books. In special, the issue of the correct formulation of the original BigBang concept, according to the precise words of Fred Hoyle, is discussed. Too often, this point is very deficiently explained (when not just misleadingly) in most of the available generalist literature. Other frequent uses of the same words, BigBang, as to name the initial singularity of the cosmos, and also whole cosmological models, are then addressed, as evolutions of its original meaning. Quantum and inflationary additions to the celebrated singularity theorems by Penrose, Geroch, Hawking and others led to subsequent results by Borde, Guth and Vilenkin. And corresponding corrections to the Einstein field equations have originated, in particular, $R^2$, $f(R)$, and scalar-tensor gravities, giving rise to a plethora of new singularities. For completeness, an updated table with a classification of the same is given.

Bigbang nucleosynthesis provides (with the microwave background radiation) one of the two quantitative experimental tests of the bigbang cosmological model. This paper reviews the standard homogeneous-isotropic calculation and shows how it fits the light element abundances ranging from He-4 at 24% by mass through H-2 and He-3 at parts in 10(exp 5) down to Li-7 at parts in 10(exp 10). Furthermore, the recent large electron positron (LEP) (and the stanford linear collider (SLC)) results on the number of neutrinos are discussed as a positive laboratory test of the standard scenario. Discussion is presented on the improved observational data as well as the improved neutron lifetime data. Alternate scenarios of decaying matter or of quark-hadron induced inhomogeneities are discussed. It is shown that when these scenarios are made to fit the observed abundances accurately, the resulting conlusions on the baryonic density relative to the critical density, omega(sub b) remain approximately the same as in the standard homogeneous case, thus, adding to the robustness of the conclusion that omega(sub b) approximately equals 0.06. This latter point is the driving force behind the need for non-baryonic dark matter (assuming omega(sub total) = 1) and the need for dark baryonic matter, since omega(sub visible) is less than omega(sub b).

Full Text Available Detailed analyses of WMAP and Planck data can have significant implications for noncyclic pre-BigBang approaches incorporating a new fundamental scale beyond the Planck scale and, potentially, new ultimate constituents of matter with unconventional basic properties as compared to standard particles. Cosmic-ray experiments at the highest energies can also yield relevant information. Hopefully, future studies will be able to deal with alternatives: i to standard physics for the structure of the physical vacuum, the nature of space-time, the validity of quantum field theory and conventional symmetries, the interpretation of string-like theories...; ii to standard cosmology concerning the origin and evolution of our Universe, unconventional solutions to the cosmological constant problem, the validity of inflationary scenarios, the need for dark matter and dark energy... Lorentz-like symmetries for the properties of matter can then be naturally stable space-time configurations resulting from more general primordial scenarios that incorporate physics beyond the Planck scale and describe the formation and evolution of the physical vacuum. A possible answer to the question of the origin of half-integer spins can be provided by a primordial spinorial space-time with two complex coordinates instead of the conventional four real ones, leading to a really new cosmology. We discuss basic questions and phenomenological topics concerning noncyclic pre-BigBang cosmologies and potentially related physics.

Bucher has recently proposed an interesting brane-world cosmological scenario where the 'bigbang' hypersurface is the locus of collision of two vacuum bubbles which nucleate in a five-dimensional flat space. This gives rise to an open universe, where the curvature can be very small provided that d/R 0 is sufficiently large. Here, d is the distance between bubbles and R 0 is their size at the time of nucleation. Quantum fluctuations develop on the bubbles as they expand towards each other, and these in turn imprint cosmological perturbations on the initial hypersurface. We present a simple formalism for calculating the spectrum of such perturbations and their subsequent evolution. We conclude that, unfortunately, the spectrum is very tilted, with a spectral index n s =3. The amplitude of fluctuations at the horizon crossing is given by 2 >∼(R 0 /d) 2 S E -1 k 2 , where S E >>1 is the Euclidean action of the instanton describing the nucleation of a bubble and k is the wave number in units of the curvature scale. The spectrum peaks on the smallest possible relevant scale, whose wave number is given by k∼d/R 0 . We comment on the possible extension of our formalism to more general situations where a bigbang is ignited through the collision of 4D extended objects

Bigbang nucleosynthesis provides (with the microwave background radiation) one of the two quantitative experimental tests of the bigbang cosmological model. This paper reviews the standard homogeneous-isotropic calculation and shows how it fits the light element abundances ranging from 4 He at 24% by mass through 2 H and 3 He at parts in 10 5 down to 7 Li at parts in 10 10 . Furthermore, the recent LEP (and SLC) results on the number of neutrinos are discussed as a positive laboratory test of the standard scenario. Discussion is presented on the improved observational data as well as the improved neutron lifetime data. Alternate scenarios of decaying matter or of quark-hadron induced inhomogeneities are discussed. It is shown that when these scenarios are made to fit the observed abundances accurately, the resulting conclusions on the baryonic density relative to the critical density, Ω b , remain approximately the same as in the standard homogeneous case, thus, adding to the robustness of the conclusion that Ω b ≅0.06. This latter point is the driving force behind the need for non-baryonic dark matter (assuming Ω total =1) and the need for dark baryonic matter, since Ω visible b . (orig.)

In this work, a mathematical model in four dimensions proposed to predict the behavior of the transport phenomena of mass (energy) in the space-time continuum through a metric tensor in the Planck scale is presented. The Ricci tensor was determined with the aim of measuring the turbulent flow of a mass with a large gravitational field similar to that which is believed to have existed in the BigBang. Computing the curvature of space-time through tensor analysis, we predict a vacuum solution of the Einstein field equations through numerical integration with approximate solutions. A quantum vacuum is filled with virtual particles of enormous superficial gravity of black holes and wormholes as predicted by other authors. By generating the geodesic equations, we obtain the relativistic equation, which is the carrier of information pertaining to the behavior of the entropy of matter. The results of the measurements of the evolution of the mass during its collapse and evaporation allow us to argue the evidence of virtual particles including all the values (and beyond) of the experimental search by other authors for gauges and Higgs bosons. We conclude that the matter behaves as virtual particles, which appear and disappear in Planck time at speeds greater than that of light, representing those that probably existed during the BigBang.

An expanding universe with all heavenly bodies moving isotropically away from the earth seems to suggest a geocentric theory which is evidently false. To defend the BigBang Theory (BBT) from falling into a geocentric theory, it is argued that if the universe is expanding linearly from the singularity, the heavenly bodies would appear to be leaving away from each other with isotropic velocity distribution with respect to any observer. In this presentation we will prove rigorously with both classical and relativistic analysis that even strict linearity of Hubble's law would not save the BigBang from falling into a geocentric theory. The key of the analysis rests on the two crucial necessary conditions for the raisin-pudding model: 1) The velocities and the positions of the earth and the galaxies must be measured simultaneously; 2) The velocity transformation between the reference frame of the earth and that of the singularity must be linear. The first condition can not be satisfied due to the speed limit of light; and the second condition can not be satisfied due to non linear velocity transformation of relativity. The whole problem is originated from the Doppler shift explanation of the red shift. Wang's Dispersive Extinction Theory (DET), however, interprets the red shift as being caused by the dispersive extinction of the star light by the space medium, and therefore does not lead to a geocentric universe. This lends a strong support to DET over BBT.

It has become common understanding that the recession of galaxies and the corresponding redshift of light received from them can only be explained by an expansion of the space between them and us. In this paper, for the presently favored case of a universe without spatial curvature, it is shown that this interpretation is restricted to comoving coordinates. It is proven by construction that within the framework of general relativity other coordinates exist in relation to which these phenomena can be explained by a motion of the cosmic substrate across space, caused by an explosionlike bigbang or by inflation preceding an almost bigbang. At the place of an observer, this motion occurs without any spatial expansion. It is shown that in these “explosion coordinates” the usual redshift comes about by a Doppler shift and a subsequent gravitational shift. Making use of this interpretation, it can easily be understood why in comoving coordinates light rays of short spatial extension expand and thus constitute an exemption from the rule that small objects up to the size of the solar system or even galaxies do not participate in the expansion of the universe. It is also discussed how the two interpretations can be reconciled with each other.

The big bounce (BB) transition within a flat Friedmann-Robertson-Walker model is analyzed in the setting of loop geometry underlying the loop cosmology. We solve the constraint of the theory at the classical level to identify physical phase space and find the Lie algebra of the Dirac observables. We express energy density of matter and geometrical functions in terms of the observables. It is the modification of classical theory by the loop geometry that is responsible for BB. The classical energy scale specific to BB depends on a parameter that should be fixed either by cosmological data or determined theoretically at quantum level, otherwise the energy scale stays unknown.

Physicists have devoted much effort to reproducing the conditions of the primordial universe in laboratory conditions in their quest to work out a comprehensive theory of the appearance and evolution of nuclear matter. Whether it be trying to recreate the predicted primordial state of high-energy density matter in which quarks and gluons are effectively deconfined - the so-called Quark Gluon Plasma (QGP) - or exploring the structure and reaction properties of very unstable nuclei in experiments using radioactive beams, they have striven to understand the events which characterized the BigBang and the various nucleosynthesis mechanisms which occur in the stars. This book contains the proceedings of the 2010 Enrico Fermi summer school held in Varenna, Italy, in July 2010, and devoted to the present understanding of the primordial universe and the origin of the elements, as achieved by studying nuclei and their constituents in extreme regimes of energy and composition. Subjects covered include: QGP formation; e...

We consider the effect of inhomogeneous neutrino degeneracy on bigbang nucleosynthesis for the case where the distribution of neutrino chemical potentials is given by a Gaussian. The chemical potential fluctuations are taken to be isocurvature, so that only inhomogeneities in the electron chemical potential are relevant. Then the final element abundances are a function only of the baryon-photon ratio η, the effective number of additional neutrinos ΔN ν , the mean electron neutrino degeneracy parameter ξ-bar, and the rms fluctuation of the degeneracy parameter, σ ξ . We find that for fixed η, ΔN ν , and ξ-bar, the abundances of 4 He, D, and 7 Li are, in general, increasing functions of σ ξ . Hence, the effect of adding a Gaussian distribution for the electron neutrino degeneracy parameter is to decrease the allowed range for η. We show that this result can be generalized to a wide variety of distributions for ξ

We develop a model for visible matter-dark matter interaction based on the exchange of a massive gray boson called herein the Mulato. Our model hinges on the assumption that all known particles in the visible matter have their counterparts in the dark matter. We postulate six families of particles five of which are dark. This leads to the unavoidable postulation of six parallel worlds, the visible one and five invisible worlds. A close study of bigbang nucleosynthesis (BBN), baryon asymmetries, cosmic microwave background (CMB) bounds, galaxy dynamics, together with the Standard Model assumptions, help us to set a limit on the mass and width of the new gauge boson. Modification of the statistics underlying the kinetic energy distribution of particles during the BBN is also discussed. The changes in reaction rates during the BBN due to a departure from the Debye-Hueckel electron screening model is also investigated.

The production of a background of super-horizon curvature perturbations with the appropriate (red) spectrum needed to trigger the cosmic anisotropies observed on large scales is associated, in the context of pre-bigbang inflation, with a phase of growing string coupling. The extension towards the past of such a phase is not limited in time by the dynamical backreaction of the quantum perturbations of the cosmological geometry and of its sources. A viable, slightly red spectrum of scalar perturbations can thus be the output of an asymptotic, perturbative regime which is well compatible with an initial string-vacuum state satisfying the postulate of 'Asymptotic Past Triviality'.

An examination and brief review is made of the effects of quark-hadron transistion induced fluctuations on BigBang nucleosynthesis. It is shown that cosmologically critical densities in baryons are difficult to reconcile with observation, but the traditional baryon density constraints from homogeneous calculations might be loosened by as much as 50 percent, to 0.3 of critical density, and the limit on the number of neutrino flavors remains about N(sub nu) is less than or approximately 4. To achieve baryon densities of greater than or approximately 0.3 of critical density would require initial density contrasts R much greater than 10(exp 3), whereas the simplest models for the transition seem to restrict R to less than approximately 10(exp 2)

What happens in early, still undetectable human malignancies is unknown because direct observations are impractical. Here we present and validate a 'BigBang' model, whereby tumors grow predominantly as a single expansion producing numerous intermixed subclones that are not subject to stringent selection and where both public (clonal) and most detectable private (subclonal) alterations arise early during growth. Genomic profiling of 349 individual glands from 15 colorectal tumors showed an absence of selective sweeps, uniformly high intratumoral heterogeneity (ITH) and subclone mixing in distant regions, as postulated by our model. We also verified the prediction that most detectable ITH originates from early private alterations and not from later clonal expansions, thus exposing the profile of the primordial tumor. Moreover, some tumors appear 'born to be bad', with subclone mixing indicative of early malignant potential. This new model provides a quantitative framework to interpret tumor growth dynamics and the origins of ITH, with important clinical implications.

The standard homogeneous-isotropic calculation of the bigbang cosmological model is reviewed, and alternate models are discussed. The standard model is shown to agree with the light element abundances for He-4, H-2, He-3, and Li-7 that are available. Improved observational data from recent LEP collider and SLC results are discussed. The data agree with the standard model in terms of the number of neutrinos, and provide improved information regarding neutron lifetimes. Alternate models are reviewed which describe different scenarios for decaying matter or quark-hadron induced inhomogeneities. The baryonic density relative to the critical density in the alternate models is similar to that of the standard model when they are made to fit the abundances. This reinforces the conclusion that the baryonic density relative to critical density is about 0.06, and also reinforces the need for both nonbaryonic dark matter and dark baryonic matter.

An examination and brief review is made of the effects of quark-hadron transition induced fluctuations on BigBang nucleosynthesis. It is shown that cosmologically critical densities in baryons are difficult to reconcile with observation, but the traditional baryon density constraints from homogeneous calculations might be loosened by as much as 50 percent, to 0.3 of critical density, and the limit on the number of neutrino flavors remains about N(sub nu) is less than or approximately 4. To achieve baryon densities of greater than or approximately 0.3 of critical density would require initial density contrasts R is much greater the 10(exp e), whereas the simplest models for the transition seem to restrict R to less than of approximately 10(exp 2).

We calculate Boltzmann neutrino energy transport with self-consistently coupled nuclear reactions through the weak-decoupling-nucleosynthesis epoch in an early universe with significant lepton numbers. We find that the presence of lepton asymmetry enhances processes which give rise to nonthermal neutrino spectral distortions. Our results reveal how asymmetries in energy and entropy density uniquely evolve for different transport processes and neutrino flavors. The enhanced distortions in the neutrino spectra alter the expected bigbang nucleosynthesis light element abundance yields relative to those in the standard Fermi-Dirac neutrino distribution cases. These yields, sensitive to the shapes of the neutrino energy spectra, are also sensitive to the phasing of the growth of distortions and entropy flow with time/scale factor. We analyze these issues and speculate on new sensitivity limits of deuterium and helium to lepton number.

The launch of Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) and the definition of Earth Observing System (EOS) are two of the major events at NASA-Goddard. The three experiments contained in COBE (Differential Microwave Radiometer (DMR), Far Infrared Absolute Spectrophotometer (FIRAS), and Diffuse Infrared Background Experiment (DIRBE)) are very important in measuring the bigbang. DMR measures the isotropy of the cosmic background (direction of the radiation). FIRAS looks at the spectrum over the whole sky, searching for deviations, and DIRBE operates in the infrared part of the spectrum gathering evidence of the earliest galaxy formation. By special techniques, the radiation coming from the solar system will be distinguished from that of extragalactic origin. Unique graphics will be used to represent the temperature of the emitting material. A cosmic event will be modeled of such importance that it will affect cosmological theory for generations to come. EOS will monitor changes in the Earth's geophysics during a whole solar color cycle.

Nuclear reaction rates are among the most important input for understanding primordial nucleosynthesis and, therefore, for a quantitative description of the early universe. An up-to-date compilation of direct cross-sections of {sup 2}H(d, p){sup 3}H, {sup 2}H(d, n){sup 3}He, {sup 7}Li(p, α){sup 4}He, and {sup 3}He(d, p){sup 4}He reactions is given. These are among the most uncertain cross-sections used and input for bigbang nucleosynthesis calculations. Their measurements through the Trojan Horse method are also reviewed and compared with direct data. The reaction rates and the corresponding recommended errors in this work were used as input for primordial nucleosynthesis calculations to evaluate their impact on the {sup 2}H, {sup 3,4}He, and {sup 7}Li primordial abundances, which are then compared with observations.

The Standard Model of particle physics was developed in the seventies. Despite many experimental successes, it presents many problems that can only be solved with models beyond the Standard Model. Supersymmetry is an interesting candidate, postulating a new symmetry between fermions and bosons. This model can also have interesting applications in cosmology. It offers potentially good candidates for dark matter, what represents 25% of the energy density of the Universe, and its nature is unknown. Another cosmological problem is the lithium problems in BigBang Nucleosynthesis describing the production of light elements in the first seconds of the Universe. The lithium abundance predicted by the theory is inconsistent with observations. I study a scenario in which a supersymmetric particle, the gravitino, is the candidate for dark matter and the production of this particle through the decay of other supersymmetric particles may solve the lithium problems. (author)

The cross section for np→dγ is calculated at energies relevant to big-bang nucleosynthesis using the recently developed effective field theory that describes the two-nucleon sector. The E1 amplitude is computed up to N 3 LO and depends only upon nucleon-nucleon phase shift data. In contrast, the M1 contribution is computed up to next-to-leading order, and the four-nucleon-one-magnetic-photon counterterm that enters is determined by the cross section for cold neutron capture. The uncertainty in the calculation for nucleon energies up to E∼1 MeV is estimated to be (less-or-similar sign)4%. (c) 1999 The American Physical Society

We study the generalisations of the Craps-Sethi-Verlinde matrix bigbang model to curved, in particular plane wave, space-times, beginning with a careful discussion of the DLCQ procedure. Singular homogeneous plane waves are ideal toy-models of realistic space-time singularities since they have been shown to arise universally as their Penrose limits, and we emphasise the role played by the symmetries of these plane waves in implementing the flat space Seiberg-Sen DLCQ prescription for these curved backgrounds. We then analyse various aspects of the resulting matrix string Yang-Mills theories, such as the relation between strong coupling space-time singularities and world-sheet tachyonic mass terms. In order to have concrete examples at hand, in an appendix we determine and analyse the IIA singular homogeneous plane wave - null dilaton backgrounds.

We study the generalisations of the Craps-Sethi-Verlinde matrix bigbang model to curved, in particular plane wave, space-times, beginning with a careful discussion of the DLCQ procedure. Singular homogeneous plane waves are ideal toy-models of realistic space-time singularities since they have been shown to arise universally as their Penrose limits, and we emphasise the role played by the symmetries of these plane waves in implementing the flat space Seiberg-Sen DLCQ prescription for these curved backgrounds. We then analyse various aspects of the resulting matrix string Yang-Mills theories, such as the relation between strong coupling space-time singularities and world-sheet tachyonic mass terms. In order to have concrete examples at hand, in an appendix we determine and analyse the IIA singular homogeneous plane wave - null dilaton backgrounds.

It is shown that only particular kinds of matter (in terms of the "radial" pressure-to-density ratio w) can coexist with Killing horizons in black hole or cosmological space-times. Thus, for arbitrary (not necessarily spherically symmetric) static black holes, admissible are vacuum matter (w = -1, i.e. the cosmological constant or its generalization with the same value of w) and matter with certain values of w between 0 and -1, in particular a gas of disordered cosmic strings (w = -1/3). If the cosmological evolution starts from a horizon (the so-called null bigbang scenarios), this horizon can coexist with vacuum matter and certain kinds of phantom matter with w ≤ -3. It is concluded that normal matter in such scenarios is entirely created from vacuum.

We study the impact on the primordial abundances of light elements created of a variation of the quark masses at the time of BigBang nucleosynthesis (BBN). In order to navigate through the particle and nuclear physics required to connect quark masses to binding energies and reaction rates in a model-independent way we use lattice QCD data and an hierarchy of effective field theories. We find that the measured {sup 4}He abundances put a bound of {delta}-1% {approx}< m{sub q}/m{sub 1} {approx}< 0.7%. The effect of quark mass variations on the deuterium abundances can be largely compensated by changes of the baryon-to-photon ratio {eta}. Including the bounds on the variation of {eta} coming from WMAP results and some additional assumptions narrows the range of allowed values of {delta}m{sub q}/m{sub q} somewhat.

We investigate in detail the parameter space of active-sterile neutrino oscillations that amplifies neutrino chemical potentials at the epoch of bigbang nucleosynthesis. We calculate the magnitude of the amplification and show evidence of chaos in the amplification process. We also discuss the implications of the neutrino chemical potential amplification in bigbang nucleosynthesis. It is shown that with a ∼1 eV ν e , the amplification of its chemical potential by active-sterile neutrino oscillations can lower the effective number of neutrino species at bigbang nucleosynthesis to significantly below three. copyright 1996 The American Physical Society

Authors rejecting singularities in the general theory of relativity still did not find a possibility of avoiding the ''time singularity'' known as the ''bigbang''. Of course, mathematics and physics are two different things, and the existence of the ''time singularity'' as the mathematical solutions of the relativistic equations does not yet mean that the ''bigbang'' actually happened. The author designs an alternative explanation of the galactic red shift and proposes a model of a universe in which no ''bigbang'' exists. (Auth.)

The initial cosmological singularity in the framework of the general theory of relativity is resolved by introducing the effect of the uncertainty principle of quantum theory without violating conventional laws of physics. A plausible account of the mechanism of the bigbang, analogous to that of a nuclear explosion, is given and the currently accepted Planck temperature of about 10^(32)K at the beginning of the bigbang is predicted. Subj-class: cosmology: theory-pre-bigbang; mechanism of t...

We investigate in detail the parameter space of active-sterile neutrino oscillations that amplifies neutrino chemical potentials at the epoch of bigbang nucleosynthesis. We calculate the magnitude of the amplification and show evidence of chaos in the amplification process. We also discuss the implications of the neutrino chemical potential amplification in bigbang nucleosynthesis. It is shown that with a {approximately}1 eV {nu}{sub {ital e}}, the amplification of its chemical potential by active-sterile neutrino oscillations can lower the effective number of neutrino species at bigbang nucleosynthesis to significantly below three. {copyright} {ital 1996 The American Physical Society.}

This book follows the evolutionary trail all the way from the BigBang 13.7 billion years ago to conscious life today. It is an accessible introductory book written for the interested layperson – anyone interested in the ‘big picture’ coming from modern science. It covers a wide range of topics including the origin and evolution of our universe, the nature and origin of life, the evolution of life including questions of birth and death, the evolution of cognition, the nature of consciousness, the possibility of extraterrestrial life and the future of the universe. The book is written in a narrative style, as these topics are all parts of a single story. It concludes with a discussion on the nature and future of science. “Peter Shaver has written engagingly for anyone curious about the world we inhabit. If you'd like to know how the Universe began, where the chemical elements originated, how life may have started on Earth, how man, ants and bacteria are related to each other, or why we humans think...

In string theory, the traditional picture of a Universe that emerges from the inflation of a very small and highly curved space-time patch is a possibility, not a necessity: quite different initial conditions are possible, and not necessarily unlikely. In particular, the duality symmetries of string theory suggest scenarios in which the Universe starts inflating from an initial state characterized by very small curvature and interactions. Such a state, being gravitationally unstable, will evolve towards higher curvature and coupling, until string-size effects and loop corrections make the Universe "bounce" into a standard, decreasing-curvature regime. In such a context, the hot bigbang of conventional cosmology is replaced by a "hot big bounce" in which the bouncing and heating mechanisms originate from the quantum production of particles in the high-curvature, large-coupling pre-bounce phase. Here we briefly summarize the main features of this inflationary scenario, proposed a quarter century ago. In its simplest version (where it represents an alternative and not a complement to standard slow-roll inflation) it can produce a viable spectrum of density perturbations, together with a tensor component characterized by a "blue" spectral index with a peak in the GHz frequency range. That means, phenomenologically, a very small contribution to a primordial B-mode in the CMB polarization, and the possibility of a large enough stochastic background of gravitational waves to be measurable by present or future gravitational wave detectors.

Full Text Available The 2H(α, γ6Li reaction is the leading process for the production of 6Li in standard BigBang Nucleosynthesis. Recent observations of lithium abundance in metal-poor halo stars suggest that there might be a 6Li plateau, similar to the well-known Spite plateau of 7Li. This calls for a re-investigation of the standard production channel for 6Li. As the 2H(α, γ6Li cross section drops steeply at low energy, it has never before been studied directly at BigBang energies. For the first time the reaction has been studied directly at BigBang energies at the LUNA accelerator. The preliminary data and their implications for BigBang nucleosynthesis and the purported 6Li problem will be shown.

The initial cosmological singularity in the framework of the general theory of relativity is resolved by introducing the effect of the uncertainty principle of quantum theory without violating conventional laws of physics. A plausible account of the mechanism of the bigbang, analogous to that of a nuclear explosion, is given and the currently accepted Planck temperature of ≅10 32 K at the beginning of the bigbang is predicted

The observed distortion of the cosmic background radiation is analyzed in the framework of information theory to derive a simple form of the photon occupation probability. Taking this distribution function as indicative of the Lagrange parameters which might characterize the era of nucleosynthesis during the bigbang, and assuming equilibrium among the constituents present, we find that the primordial 4 He abundance may be reduced by as much as 15% from the standard big-bang prediction

In pre-big-bang string cosmology one uses a phase of dilaton-driven inflation to stretch an initial (microscopic) spatial patch to the (much larger) size of the big-bang fireball. We show that the dilaton-driven inflationary phase does not naturally iron out the initial classical tensor inhomogeneities unless the initial value of the string coupling is smaller than g in ∼ -35

Spectral obtained with VLT/UVES suggest the existence of the 6 Li isotope in several metal-poor stars at a level that challenges ideas about its synthesis. The 7 Li abundance is, on the other hand, a factor of three lower than predicted by standard BigBang nucleosynthesis theory. Both problems may be explained if decaying suppersymmetric particles affect the synthesis of light elements in the BigBang. (orig.)

How did the Universe begin? Does time have a beginning and an end? Does space have edges? The questions are clear and simple. They are as old as human curiosity. But the answers have always seemed beyond the reach of science. Until now. In their attempts to understand how space, time, and matter are connected, Einstein and his successors made three predictions. First, space is expanding from a BigBang; second, space and time can tie themselves into contorted knots called black holes where time actually comes to a halt; third, space itself contains some kind of energy that is pull- ing the Universe apart. Each of these three predictions seemed so fantastic when it was made that everyone, including Einstein himself, regarded them as unlikely. Incredibly, all three have turned out to be true. Yet Einstein's legacy is one of deep mystery, because his theories are silent on three questions raised by his fantastic predictions: (1) What powered the BigBang? (2) What happens to space, time, and matter at the edge of a black hole? (3) What is the mysterious dark energy pulling the Universe apart? The answers to these questions-which lie at the crux of where our current theories fail us-will lead to a profound, new understanding of the nature of time and space. To find answers, however, we must venture beyond Einstein. The answers require new theories, such as the inflationary Universe and new insights in high-energy particle theory. Like Einstein s theories, these make fantastic predictions that seem hard to believe: unseen dimensions and entire universes beyond our own. We must find facts to confront and guide these new theories. Powerful new technologies now make this possible. And NASA and its partners are developing an armada of space-based observatories to chart the path to discovery. Here is where the Beyond Einstein story begins. By exploring the three questions that are Einstein s legacy, we begin the next revolution in understanding our Universe. We plot our way

One of the simplest time-dependent solutions of M theory consists of nine-dimensional Euclidean space times 1+1-dimensional compactified Milne space-time. With a further modding out by Z 2 , the space-time represents two orbifold planes which collide and re-emerge, a process proposed as an explanation of the hot bigbang [J. Khoury, B. A. Ovrut, P. J. Steinhardt, and N. Turok, Phys. Rev. D 64, 123522 (2001).][P. J. Steinhardt and N. Turok, Science 296, 1436 (2002).][N. Turok, M. Perry, and P. J. Steinhardt, Phys. Rev. D 70, 106004 (2004).]. When the two planes are near, the light states of the theory consist of winding M2-branes, describing fundamental strings in a particular ten-dimensional background. They suffer no blue-shift as the M theory dimension collapses, and their equations of motion are regular across the transition from big crunch to bigbang. In this paper, we study the classical evolution of fundamental strings across the singularity in some detail. We also develop a simple semiclassical approximation to the quantum evolution which allows one to compute the quantum production of excitations on the string and implement it in a simplified example

A host of dark energy models and non-standard cosmologies predict an enhanced Hubble rate in the early Universe: perfectly viable models, which satisfy BigBang Nucleosynthesis (BBN), cosmic microwave background and general relativity tests, may nevertheless lead to enhancements of the Hubble rate up to many orders of magnitude. In this paper we show that strong bounds on the pre-BBN evolution of the Universe may be derived, under the assumption that dark matter is a thermal relic, by combining the dark matter relic density bound with constraints coming from the production of cosmic-ray antiprotons by dark matter annihilation in the Galaxy. The limits we derive can be sizable and apply to the Hubble rate around the temperature of dark matter decoupling. For dark matter masses lighter than 100 GeV, the bound on the Hubble-rate enhancement ranges from a factor of a few to a factor of 30, depending on the actual cosmological model, while for a mass of 500 GeV the bound falls in the range 50-500. Uncertainties in the derivation of the bounds and situations where the bounds become looser are discussed. We finally discuss how these limits apply to some specific realizations of non-standard cosmologies: a scalar-tensor gravity model, kination models and a Randall-Sundrum D-brane model. (Orig.)

A host of dark energy models and non-standard cosmologies predict an enhanced Hubble rate in the early Universe: perfectly viable models, which satisfy BigBang Nucleosynthesis (BBN), cosmic microwave background and general relativity tests, may nevertheless lead to enhancements of the Hubble rate up to many orders of magnitude. In this paper we show that strong bounds on the pre-BBN evolution of the Universe may be derived, under the assumption that dark matter is a thermal relic, by combining the dark matter relic density bound with constraints coming from the production of cosmic-ray antiprotons by dark matter annihilation in the Galaxy. The limits we derive can be sizable and apply to the Hubble rate around the temperature of dark matter decoupling. For dark matter masses lighter than 100 GeV, the bound on the Hubble-rate enhancement ranges from a factor of a few to a factor of 30, depending on the actual cosmological model, while for a mass of 500 GeV the bound falls in the range 50-500. Uncertainties in the derivation of the bounds and situations where the bounds become looser are discussed. We finally discuss how these limits apply to some specific realizations of non-standard cosmologies: a scalar-tensor gravity model, kination models and a Randall-Sundrum D-brane model. (Orig.)

An international students’ project is presented focused on application of Open Office and Excel spreadsheets for modeling of projectile-motion type dynamical systems. Variation of the parameters of plotted and animated families of jets flowing at different angles out of the holes in the wall of water-filled reservoir [1,2] revealed unexpected peculiarities of the envelopes, vertices, intersections and landing points of virtual trajectories. Comparison with real-life systems and rigorous calculations were performed to prove predictions of computer experiments. By same technique, the kinematics of fireworks was analyzed. On this basis two-dimensional ‘firework’ computer model of BigBang was designed and studied, its relevance and limitations checked. 1.R.Ehrlich, Turning the World Inside Out, (Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, 1990), pp. 98-100. 2.A.Kazachkov, Yu.Bogdan, N.Makarovsky, N.Nedbailo. A Bucketful of Physics, in R.Pinto, S.Surinach (eds), International Conference Physics Teacher Education Beyond 2000. Selected Contributions (Elsevier Editions, Paris, 2001), pp.563-564. Sponsored by Courtney Willis.

Hepatic encephalopathy (HE) is a neuropsychiatric disorder that commonly complicates the course of patients with liver disease. Despite the fact that the syndrome was probably first recognized hundreds of years ago, the exact pathogenesis still remains unclear. Minimal hepatic encephalopathy (MHE) is the earliest form of HE and is estimated to affect more that 75% of patients with liver cirrhosis. It is characterized by cognitive impairment predominantly attention, reactiveness and integrative function with very subtle clinical manifestations. The development of MHE is associated with worsen in driving skills, daily activities and the increase of overall mortality. Skeletal muscle has the ability to shift from ammonia producer to ammonia detoxifying organ. Due to its large size, becomes the main ammonia detoxifying organ in case of chronic liver failure and muscular glutamine-synthase becomes important due to the failing liver and brain metabolic activity. Gut is the major glutamine consumer and ammonia producer organ in the body. Hepatocellular dysfunction due to liver disease, results in an impaired clearance of ammonium and in its inter-organ trafficking. Intestinal bacteria, can also represent an extra source of ammonia production and in cirrhosis, small intestinal bacterial overgrowth and symbiosis can be observed. In the study of HE, to get close to MHE is to get closer to its bigbang; and from here, to travel less transited roads such as skeletal muscle and intestine, is to go even closer. The aim of this editorial is to expose this road for further and deeper work.

Workers' compensation in the past two years has been dominated by events in California, which have been so fundamental as to merit the term bigbang. Passage of Senate Bill 899 has led to a comprehensive program of reform in access to medical care, access to rehabilitation services, temporary and permanent disability, evidence-based management, dispute resolution, and system innovation. Two noteworthy developments thus arose: a new requirement for apportionment by cause in causation analysis, and the adoption of evidence-based criteria for impairment assessment, treatment guidelines, and, soon, utilization review. Elsewhere in the United States, changes were modest, but extensive legislative activity in Texas suggests that Texas will be next to make major changes. In Canada, the Workers' Compensation Board of British Columbia has adopted an ambitious strategic initiative, and there is a Canadawide movement to establish presumption for certain diseases in firefighters. Suggestions for future directions include an increased emphasis on prevention, integration of programs, worker participation, enhancing the expertise of health care professionals, evidence-based management, process evaluation, and opportunities for innovation.

Chronic inflammation of the intestine is detrimental to mammals. Similarly, constant activation of the immune response in the gut by the endogenous flora is suspected to be harmful to Drosophila. Therefore, the innate immune response in the gut of Drosophila melanogaster is tightly balanced to simultaneously prevent infections by pathogenic microorganisms and tolerate the endogenous flora. Here we describe the role of the bigbang (bbg) gene, encoding multiple membrane-associated PDZ (PSD-95, Discs-large, ZO-1) domain-containing protein isoforms, in the modulation of the gut immune response. We show that in the adult Drosophila midgut, BBG is present at the level of the septate junctions, on the apical side of the enterocytes. In the absence of BBG, these junctions become loose, enabling the intestinal flora to trigger a constitutive activation of the anterior midgut immune response. This chronic epithelial inflammation leads to a reduced lifespan of bbg mutant flies. Clearing the commensal flora by antibiotics prevents the abnormal activation of the gut immune response and restores a normal lifespan. We now provide genetic evidence that Drosophila septate junctions are part of the gut immune barrier, a function that is evolutionarily conserved in mammals. Collectively, our data suggest that septate junctions are required to maintain the subtle balance between immune tolerance and immune response in the Drosophila gut, which represents a powerful model to study inflammatory bowel diseases.

At present, the professional skills of the historian are rarely relied upon when health policies are being formulated. There are numerous reasons for this, one of which is the natural desire of decision-makers to break with the past when enacting bigbang policy change. This article identifies the strengths professional historians bring to bear on policy development using the establishment and subsequent reform of universal health coverage as an example. Historians provide pertinent and historically informed context; isolate the forces that have historically allowed for major reform; and separate the truly novel reforms from those attempted or implemented in the past. In addition, the historian's use of primary sources allows potentially new and highly salient facts to guide the framing of the policy problem and its solution. This paper argues that historians are critical for constructing a viable narrative of the establishment and evolution of universal health coverage policies. The lack of this narrative makes it difficult to achieve an accurate assessment of systemic gaps in coverage and access, and the design or redesign of universal health coverage that can successfully close these gaps.

We investigate possible interactions between neutrinos and massive scalar bosons via gϕν ¯ν ϕ (or massive vector bosons via gVν ¯γμν Vμ) and explore the allowed parameter space of the coupling constant gϕ (or gV) and the scalar (or vector) boson mass mϕ (or mV) by requiring that these secret neutrino interactions (SNIs) should not spoil the success of bigbang nucleosynthesis (BBN). Incorporating the SNIs into the evolution of the early Universe in the BBN era, we numerically solve the Boltzmann equations and compare the predictions for the abundances of light elements with observations. It turns out that the constraint on gϕ and mϕ in the scalar-boson case is rather weak, due to a small number of degrees of freedom (d.o.f.). However, in the vector-boson case, the most stringent bound on the coupling gV≲6 ×10-10 at 95% confidence level is obtained for mV≃1 MeV , while the bound becomes much weaker gV≲8 ×10-6 for smaller masses mV≲10-4 MeV . Moreover, we discuss in some detail how the SNIs affect the cosmological evolution and the abundances of the lightest elements.

Full Text Available We present here a cosmological myth, alternative (but complementary to "the Universe Story" and "the Epic of Evolution", highlighting the roles of entropy and dissipative structures in the universe inaugurated by the BigBang. Our myth offers answers these questions: Where are we? What are we? Why are we here? What are we to do? It also offers answers to a set of "why" questions: Why is there anything at all? and Why are there so many kinds of systems? - the answers coming from cosmology and physics (thermodynamics; Why do systems not last once they exist? - the answer coming from a materialist interpretation of information theory; and, Why are systems just the way they are and not otherwise? - the answer coming from evolutionary biology. We take into account the four kinds of causation designated by Aristotle as efficient, final, and material formal, with the Second Law of thermodynamics in the role of final cause. Conceptual problems concerning reductionism, "teleology", and the choice/chance distinction are dealt with in the framework of specification hierarchy, and the moral implications of our story explored in the conclusion.

Full Text Available We present here a cosmological myth, alternative (but complementary to "the Universe Story" and "the Epic of Evolution", highlighting the roles of entropy and dissipative structures in the universe inaugurated by the BigBang. Our myth offers answers these questions: Where are we? What are we? Why are we here? What are we to do? It also offers answers to a set of "why" questions: Why is there anything at all? and Why are there so many kinds of systems? - the answers coming from cosmology and physics (thermodynamics; Why do systems not last once they exist? - the answer coming from a materialist interpretation of information theory; and, Why are systems just the way they are and not otherwise? - the answer coming from evolutionary biology. We take into account the four kinds of causation designated by Aristotle as efficient, final, and material formal, with the Second Law of thermodynamics in the role of final cause. Conceptual problems concerning reductionism, "teleology", and the choice/chance distinction are dealt with in the framework of specification hierarchy, and the moral implications of our story explored in the conclusion.

Attention is given to the so-called standard model of the universe in the framework of the general theory of relativity. This model is taken to be homogeneous and isotropic and filled with an ideal fluid characterized by a density and a pressure. Taking into consideration, however, the assumption that the universe began in a singular state, it is found hard to understand why the universe is so nearly homogeneous and isotropic at present for a singularity represents a breakdown of physical laws, and the initial singularity cannot, therefore, predetermine the subsequent symmetries of the universe. The present investigation has the objective to find a way of avoiding this initial singularity, i.e., to look for a cosmological model without the bigbang. The idea is proposed that there exists a limiting density of matter of the order of magnitude of the Planck density, and that this was the density of matter at the moment at which the universe began to expand

Bigbang nucleosynthesis (BBN) describes the production of the lightest elements in the first minutes of cosmic time. I will review the physics of cosmological element production, and the observations of the primordial element abundances. The comparison between theory and observation has heretofore provided our earliest probe of the universe, and given the best measure of the cosmic baryon content. However, BBN has now taken a new role in cosmology, in light of new precision measurements of the cosmic microwave background (CMB). Recent CMB anisotropy data yield a wealth of cosmological parameters; in particular, the baryon-to-photon ratio η = n B /n γ is measured to high precision. The confrontation between the BBN and CMB 'baryometers' poses a new and stringent test of the standard cosmology; the status of this test will be discussed. Moreover, it is now possible to recast the role of BBN by using the CMB to fix the baryon density and even some light element abundances. This strategy sharpens BBN into a more powerful probe of early universe physics, and of galactic nucleosynthesis processes. The impact of the CMB results on particle physics beyond the Standard Model, and on non-standard cosmology, will be illustrated. Prospects for improvement of these bounds via additional astronomical observations and nuclear experiments will be discussed, as will the lingering 'lithium problem.' (author)

We propose an alternative inflationary universe scenario in the context of Randall-Sundrum braneworld cosmology. In this new scenario the existence of extra dimension(s) plays an essential role. First, the brane universe is initially in the inflationary phase driven by the effective cosmological constant induced by a small mismatch between the vacuum energy in the five-dimensional bulk and the brane tension. This mismatch arises since the bulk is initially in a false vacuum. Then, false vacuum decay occurs, nucleating a true vacuum bubble with negative energy inside the bulk. The nucleated bubble expands in the bulk and consequently hits the brane, causing a hot big-bang brane universe of the Randall-Sundrum type. Here, the termination of the inflationary phase is due to the change of the bulk vacuum energy. The bubble kinetic energy heats up the universe. As a simple realization, we propose a model in which we assume an interaction between the brane and the bubble. We derive the constraints on the model parameters taking into account the following requirements: solving the flatness problem, no force which prohibits the bubble from colliding with the brane, a sufficiently high reheating temperature for the standard nucleosynthesis to work, and the recovery of Newton's law up to 1 mm. We find that a fine-tuning is needed in order to satisfy the first and the second requirements simultaneously, although the other constraints are satisfied in a wide range of the model parameters

We discuss the way non-perturbative quantization of cosmological spacetimes in loop quantum cosmology provides insights on the physics of Planck scale and the resolution of bigbang singularity. In recent years, rigorous examination of mathematical and physical aspects of the quantum theory, have singled out a consistent quantization which is physically viable and various early ideas have been shown to be inconsistent. These include 'physical effects' originating from modifications to inverse scale factors in the flat models. The singularity resolution is understood to originate from the non-local nature of curvature in the quantum theory and the underlying polymer representation. Based on insights from extensive numerical simulations, an exactly solvable model involving a small approximation at the quantum level can be developed. The model predicts occurrence of bounce for a dense subspace of the Hilbert space and a supremum for the value of energy density. It also provides answers to the growth of fluctuations, showing that semi-classicality is preserved to an amazing degree across the bounce.

We discuss the way non-perturbative quantization of cosmological spacetimes in loop quantum cosmology provides insights on the physics of Planck scale and the resolution of bigbang singularity. In recent years, rigorous examination of mathematical and physical aspects of the quantum theory, have singled out a consistent quantization which is physically viable and various early ideas have been shown to be inconsistent. These include 'physical effects' originating from modifications to inverse scale factors in the flat models. The singularity resolution is understood to originate from the non-local nature of curvature in the quantum theory and the underlying polymer representation. Based on insights from extensive numerical simulations, an exactly solvable model involving a small approximation at the quantum level can be developed. The model predicts occurrence of bounce for a dense subspace of the Hilbert space and a supremum for the value of energy density. It also provides answers to the growth of fluctuations, showing that semi-classicality is preserved to an amazing degree across the bounce.

The assumption of exact, unbroken parity symmetry leads directly to a simple predictive resolution of the atmospheric and solar neutrino puzzles. This is because the existence of this symmetry implies the existence of a set of mirror neutrinos which must mix maximally with the known neutrinos if neutrinos have mass. the maximal mixing of the electron neutrino with the mirror electron neutrino with 3 x 10{sup -10} eV{sup 2} {<=} |{delta}m{sup 2}| {<=} 10{sup -3} eV{sup 2} leads to a predicted reduction of the solar neutrino flux by-a factor of 2, which is in quite good agreement with the experiments. The maximal mixing of the muon neutrino with the mirror muon neutrino with |{delta}m{sup 2}| {approx} 10{sup -2} eV{sup 2} also solves the atmospheric neutrino puzzle. We show that there is a significant range of parameters where these solutions are not in conflict with standard BigBang Nucleosynthesis when the creation of lepton asymmetry due to neutrino oscillations is taken into account. (authors).

We discuss the way non-perturbative quantization of cosmological spacetimes in loop quantum cosmology provides insights on the physics of Planck scale and the resolution of bigbang singularity. In recent years, rigorous examination of mathematical and physical aspects of the quantum theory, have singled out a consistent quantization which is physically viable and various early ideas have been shown to be inconsistent. These include 'physical effects' originating from modifications to inverse scale factors in the flat models. The singularity resolution is understood to originate from the non-local nature of curvature in the quantum theory and the underlying polymer representation. Based on insights from extensive numerical simulations, an exactly solvable model involving a small approximation at the quantum level can be developed. The model predicts occurrence of bounce for a dense subspace of the Hilbert space and a supremum for the value of energy density. It also provides answers to the growth of fluctuations, showing that semi-classicality is preserved to an amazing degree across the bounce.

Exact analytic solutions for a class of scalar-tensor gravity theories with a hyperbolic scalar potential are presented. Using an exact solution we have successfully constructed a model of inflation that produces the spectral index, the running of the spectral index, and the amplitude of scalar perturbations within the constraints given by the WMAP 7 years data. The model simultaneously describes the bigbang and inflation connected by a specific time delay between them so that these two events are regarded as dependent on each other. In solving the Friedmann equations, we have utilized an essential Weyl symmetry of our theory in 3+1 dimensions which is a predicted remaining symmetry of 2T-physics field theory in 4+2 dimensions. This led to a new method of obtaining analytic solutions in the 1T field theory which could in principle be used to solve more complicated theories with more scalar fields. Some additional distinguishing properties of the solution includes the fact that there are early periods of time when the slow-roll approximation is not valid. Furthermore, the inflaton does not decrease monotonically with time; rather, it oscillates around the potential minimum while settling down, unlike the slow-roll approximation. While the model we used for illustration purposes is realistic in most respects, it lacks a mechanism for stopping inflation. The technique of obtaining analytic solutions opens a new window for studying inflation, and other applications, more precisely than using approximations.

Physicists who identify the bigbang with the early universe should have first noted from Hawking's A Brief History of Time, p. 42, that he ties Hubble's law to Doppler shifts from galaxy recession from a nearby center, not to bb's unvalidated and thus problematical expansion redshifts. Our PRL submission LJ12135 describes such a model, but in it Hubble's law is due to Doppler and vacuum gravity effects, the 2.73K CBR is vacuum gravity shifted blackbody cavity radiation from an outer galactic shell, and its (1 + z)-1 dilation and (M,z) relations closely fit high-z SNe Ia data; all this strongly implies our model's vacuum energy is the elusive dark energy. We also find GPS operation's GR effects falsify bigbang's in-flight expansion redshift paradigm, and hence the bigbang, by showing λ changes occur only at emission. Surprisingly we also discover bigbang's CBR prediction is T 0, while galactic photons shrink dλ/dt < 0. Contrary to a PRL editor's claim, the above results show LJ12135 fits PRL guidelines for papers that replace established theories. For details see alphacosmos.net.

This article presents a methodology that provides a method for design optimization of steel truss structures based on a refined bigbang-big crunch (BB-BC) algorithm. It is shown that a standard formulation of the BB-BC algorithm occasionally falls short of producing acceptable solutions to problems from discrete size optimum design of steel trusses. A reformulation of the algorithm is proposed and implemented for design optimization of various discrete truss structures according to American Institute of Steel Construction Allowable Stress Design (AISC-ASD) specifications. Furthermore, the performance of the proposed BB-BC algorithm is compared to its standard version as well as other well-known metaheuristic techniques. The numerical results confirm the efficiency of the proposed algorithm in practical design optimization of truss structures.

We study D-branes in a two-dimensional lorentzian orbifold R 1,1 /Γ with a discrete boost Γ. This space is known as Misner or Milne space, and includes big crunch/bigbang singularity. In this space, there are D0-branes in spiral orbits and D1-branes with or without flux on them. In particular, we observe imaginary parts of partition functions, and interpret them as the rates of open string pair creation for D0-branes and emission of winding closed strings for D1-branes. These phenomena occur due to the time-dependence of the background. Open string 2→2 scattering amplitude on a D1-brane is also computed and found to be less singular than closed string case

We study D-branes in a two-dimensional lorentzian orbifold R{sup 1,1}/{gamma} with a discrete boost {gamma}. This space is known as Misner or Milne space, and includes big crunch/bigbang singularity. In this space, there are D0-branes in spiral orbits and D1-branes with or without flux on them. In particular, we observe imaginary parts of partition functions, and interpret them as the rates of open string pair creation for D0-branes and emission of winding closed strings for D1-branes. These phenomena occur due to the time-dependence of the background. Open string 2{yields}2 scattering amplitude on a D1-brane is also computed and found to be less singular than closed string case.

This is the first of three papers describing an alternative paradigm of cosmogony, the beginning and evolution of the universe. The Zero Kelvin BigBang (ZKBB) theory is compared to the prevailing Standard BigBang (SBB) paradigm, and challenges the notion that our universe is "all there is." Logic suggests that the BigBang was not a creation event, but that the universe did have a beginning: a "cosmic fabric" of pre- existing matter, in pre-existing space. Instead, the Zero Kelvin BigBang was a transitional event between that "beginning" and what would become our universe. Extrapolating entropy back in time (as SBB does for matter and energy), and applying simple logic, suggests a "cosmic fabric" of the simplest, stable particles of matter, at the lowest energy state possible: singlet state, spin-oriented atomic hydrogen at zero kelvin, at a density of, at most, only a few atoms per cubic meter of space, infinite and (almost) eternal. Papers II and III describe the condensation of part of the cosmic fabric into a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) as Lemaître's primeval atom, followed by an implosion- explosion BigBang.

Contrary to a common argument that a small increase in the strength of the strong force would lead to destruction of all hydrogen in the bigbang due to binding of the diproton and the dineutron with a catastrophic impact on life as we know it, we show that provided the increase in strong force coupling constant is less than about 50% substantial amounts of hydrogen remain. The reason is that an increase in strong force strength leads to tighter binding of the deuteron, permitting nucleosynthesis to occur earlier in the bigbang at higher temperature than in the standard bigbang. Photodestruction of the less tightly bound diproton and dineutron delays their production to after the bulk of nucleosynthesis is complete. The decay of the diproton can, however, lead to relatively large abundances of deuterium.

The astrophysical Li-7 abundance is considered to be largely primordial, while the Be and B abundances are thought to be due to galactic cosmic ray (GCR) spallation reactions on top of a much smaller bigbang component. But GCR spallation should also produce Li-7. As a consistency check on the combination of bigbang nucleosynthesis and GCR spallation, the Be and B data from a sample of hot population II stars is used to subtract from the measured Li-7 abundance an estimate of the amount generated by GCR spallation for each star in the sample, and then to add to this baseline an estimate of the metallicity-dependent augmentation of Li-7 due to spallation. The singly reduced primordial Li-7 abundance is still consistent with bigbang nucleosynthesis, and a single GCR spallation model can fit the Be, B, and corrected Li-7 abundances for all the stars in the sample.

We examine the possibility that circles in the cosmic microwave background could be formed by the interaction of a gravitational wave pulse emitted in some pre-big-bang phase of the universe with the last scattering surface. We derive the expected size distribution of such circles, as well as their typical ring width and (for concentric circles) angular separation. We apply these results, in particular, to conformal cyclic cosmology, ekpyrotic cosmology as well as loop quantum cosmology with and without inflation in order to determine how the predicted geometric properties of these circles would vary from one model to the other, and thus, if detected, could allow us to differentiate between various pre-big-bang cosmological models. We also obtain a relation between the angular ring width and the angular radius of such circles that can be used in order to determine whether or not circles observed in the cosmic microwave background are due to energetic pre-big-bang events.

The pre-big-bang cosmological scenario is studied within the context of the Brans-Dicke theory of gravity. An epoch of superinflationary expansion may occur in the pre-big-bang phase of the Universe close-quote s history in a certain region of parameter space. Two models are considered that contain a cosmological constant in the gravitational and matter sectors of the theory, respectively. Classical pre- and post-big-bang solutions are found for both models. The existence of a curvature singularity forbids a classical transition between the two branches. On the other hand, a quantum cosmological approach based on the tunneling boundary condition results in a nonzero transition probability. The transition may be interpreted as a spatial reflection of the wave function in minisuperspace. copyright 1997 The American Physical Society

At low energy, the four-dimensional effective action of the ekpyrotic model of the universe is equivalent to a slightly modified version of the pre-bigbang model. We discuss cosmological perturbations in these models. In particular we address the issue of matching the perturbations from a collapsing to an expanding phase. We show that, under certain physically motivated and quite generic assumptions on the high energy corrections, one obtains n=0 for the spectrum of scalar perturbations in the original pre-bigbang model (with a vanishing potential). With the same assumptions, when an exponential potential for the dilaton is included, a scale invariant spectrum (n=1) of adiabatic scalar perturbations is produced under very generic matching conditions, both in a modified pre-bigbang and ekpyrotic scenario. We also derive the resulting spectrum for arbitrary power law scale factors matched to a radiation-dominated era

The pre-big-bang cosmological scenario is studied within the context of the Brans-Dicke theory of gravity. An epoch of superinflationary expansion may occur in the pre-big-bang phase of the Universe{close_quote}s history in a certain region of parameter space. Two models are considered that contain a cosmological constant in the gravitational and matter sectors of the theory, respectively. Classical pre- and post-big-bang solutions are found for both models. The existence of a curvature singularity forbids a classical transition between the two branches. On the other hand, a quantum cosmological approach based on the tunneling boundary condition results in a nonzero transition probability. The transition may be interpreted as a spatial reflection of the wave function in minisuperspace. {copyright} {ital 1997} {ital The American Physical Society}

An outline is given of the evolution of the Galaxy between the BigBang and the Bing Bang (explosions of supernovae billions of years ago, providing materials and possibly the impetus for the formation of the solar system). During the long interval prior to the birth of the sun, the Galaxy evolved by converting gas to stars and by enriching the gas with heavy elements created in the stars. Some radioactive nuclides suggest that the interval between their production in stellar sources and the accumulation of planets of at least a few kilometers in size was only a few million years. The formation of the sun may have taken place in a stellar association and may have been preceded immediately by SN-type explosions, which may even have been the triggering mechanism of the formation process. 7 references

We calculate the primordial abundances of light elements produced during bigbang nucleosynthesis when the fine structure constant and/or the cosmic expansion rate take nonstandard values. We compare them with the recent values of observed D, 4 He, and 7 Li abundances, which show a slight inconsistency among themselves in the standard bigbang nucleosynthesis scenario. This inconsistency is not solved by considering either a varying fine structure constant or a nonstandard expansion rate separately but solutions are found by their simultaneous existence

We follow the evolution of the curvaton on superhorizon scales and check that the spectral tilt of the curvaton perturbations is unchanged as the curvaton becomes non-relativistic. Both inflation and pre-bigbang cosmology can be treated since the curvaton mechanism within the two scenarios works...... the same way. We also discuss the amplitude of the density perturbations, which leads to some interesting constrains on the pre-bigbang scenario. It is shown that within a SL(3,R) non-linear sigma model one of the three axions has the right coupling to the dilaton and moduli to yield a flat spectrum...

One of the most prominent success with the BigBang models is the precise reproduction of mass abundance ratio for {sup 4}He. In spite of the success, abundances of lithium isotopes are still inconsistent between observations and their calculated results, which is known as lithium abundance problem. Since the calculations were based on the experimental reaction data together with theoretical estimations, more precise experimental measurements may improve the knowledge of the BigBang nucleosynthesis. As one of the destruction process of lithium-7, we have performed measurements for the reaction cross sections of the {sup 7}L({sup 3}He,p){sup 9}Be reaction.

Most well-read, but non-scientific, people will have heard of the term "BigBang" as a description of the origin of the Universe. They will recognize that DNA identifies individuals and will know that the origin of life is one of the great unsolved scientific mysteries. This book brings together all of that material. Starting with the creation of space and time - known as the BigBang - the book traces causally related steps through the formation of matter, of stars and planets, the Earth itself, the evolution of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, and then through to the beginnings of life an

The question of possible physics before BigBang (or after Big Crunch) is addressed via a schematic non-covariant simulation of the loss of observability of the Universe. Our model is drastically simplified by the reduction of its degrees of freedom to the mere finite number. The Hilbert space of states is then allowed time-dependent and singular at the critical time t = t c . This option circumvents several traditional theoretical difficulties in a way illustrated via solvable examples. In particular, the unitary evolution of our toy-model quantum Universe is shown interruptible, without any fine-tuning, at the instant of its bang or collapse t = t c .

We discuss various superstring effective actions and, in particular, their common sector which leads to the so-called pre-big-bang cosmology (cosmology in a weak coupling limit of heterotic superstring theory. Using the conformal relationship between these two theories we present Kasner asymptotic solutions of Bianchi type IX geometries within these theories and make predictions about possible emergence of chaos. Finally, we present a possible method of generating Horava-Witten cosmological solutions out of the well-known general relativistic or pre-big-bang solutions

How did the universe begin? Is the gravitational physics that governs the shape and evolution of the cosmos connected in a fundamental way to the sub-atomic physics of particle colliders? Light from the BigBang still permeates the universe and carries within it faint clues to the physics at the start of space and time. I will describe how current and planned measurements of the cosmic microwave background will observe the BigBang to provide new insight into a "Theory of Everything" uniting the physics of the very large with the physics of the very small.

The question of possible physics before BigBang (or after Big Crunch) is addressed via a schematic non-covariant simulation of the loss of observability of the Universe. Our model is drastically simplified by the reduction of its degrees of freedom to the mere finite number. The Hilbert space of states is then allowed time-dependent and singular at the critical time t = tc. This option circumvents several traditional theoretical difficulties in a way illustrated via solvable examples. In particular, the unitary evolution of our toy-model quantum Universe is shown interruptible, without any fine-tuning, at the instant of its bang or collapse t = tc.

Einstein's equation, in its standard form, breaks down at the BigBang singularity. A new version, equivalent to Einstein's whenever the latter is defined, but applicable in wider situations, is proposed. The new equation remains smooth at the BigBang singularity of the Friedmann—Lemaître—Robertson—Walker model. It is a tensor equation defined in terms of the Ricci part of the Riemann curvature. It is obtained by taking the Kulkarni—Nomizu product between Einstein's equation and the metric tensor.

We perform a likelihood analysis of the recent results on the anisotropy of cosmic microwave background radiation from the BOOMERanG and DASI experiments to show that they single out an effective number of neutrinos in good agreement with standard bigbang nucleosynthesis. We also consider degenerate bigbang nucleosynthesis to provide new bounds on effective relativistic degrees of freedom N ν and, in particular, on the neutrino chemical potential ξ α . When including supernova type Ia data we find, at 2σ, N ν ≤7 and -0.01≤ξ e ≤0.22, vertical bar ξ μ,τ vertical bar ≤2.6

For almost 30 years, the predictions of big-bang nucleosynthesis have been used to test the big-bang model to within a fraction of a second of the bang. The agreement between the predicted and observed abundances of deuterium, helium-3, helium-4, and lithium-7 confirms the standard cosmology model and allows accurate determination of the baryon density, between 1.7 x 10(-31) and 4.1 x 10(-31) grams per cubic centimeter (corresponding to about 1 to 15 percent of the critical density). This measurement of the density of ordinary matter is pivotal to the establishment of two dark-matter problems: (i) most of the baryons are dark, and (ii) if the total mass density is greater than about 15 percent of the critical density, as many determinations indicate, the bulk of the dark matter must be "non-baryonic," composed of elementary particles left from the earliest moments.

The redshift from the bigbang in the standard model is always infinite, but in inhomogeneous cosmological models infinite blueshifts are also possible. To avoid such divergent energy fluxes, we require that all realistic cosmological models must not display infinite blueshifts. We apply this requirement to the Tolman model (spherically symmetric dust), using the geometrical optics approximation, and assuming that the geodesic tangent vectors may be expanded in power series. We conclude that the bang time must be simultaneous. The stronger requirement, that only infinite redshifts from the bigbang may occur, does not lead to a stronger condition on the metric. Further consequences of simultaneity are that no decaying mode fluctuations are possible, and that the only acceptable model which is homogeneous at late times is the Robertson-Walker model

The redshift from the bigbang in the standard model is always infinite, but in inhomogeneous cosmological models infinite blueshifts are also possible. To avoid such divergent energy fluxes, we require that all realistic cosmological models must not display infinite blueshifts. We apply this requirement to the Tolman model (spherically symmetric dust), using the geometrical optics approximation, and assuming that the geodesic tangent vectors may be expanded in power series. We conclude that the bang time must be simultaneous. The stronger requirement, that only infinite redshifts from the bigbang may occur, does not lead to a stronger condition on the metric. Further consequences of simultaneity are that no decaying mode fluctuations are possible, and that the only acceptable model which is homogeneous at late times is the Robertson-Walker model.

Full Text Available Planck and other recent data in Cosmology and Particle Physics can open the way to controversial analyses concerning the early Universe and its possible ultimate origin. Alternatives to standard cosmology include pre-BigBang approaches, new space-time geometries and new ultimate constituents of matter. Basic issues related to a possible new cosmology along these lines clearly deserve further exploration. The Planck collaboration reports an age of the Universe t close to 13.8 Gyr and a present ratio H between relative speeds and distances at cosmic scale around 67.3 km/s/Mpc. The product of these two measured quantities is then slightly below 1 (about 0.95, while it can be exactly 1 in the absence of matter and cosmological constant in patterns based on the spinorial space-time we have considered in previous papers. In this description of space-time we first suggested in 1996-97, the cosmic time t is given by the modulus of a SU(2 spinor and the Lundmark-Lemaître-Hubble (LLH expansion law turns out to be of purely geometric origin previous to any introduction of standard matter and relativity. Such a fundamental geometry, inspired by the role of half-integer spin in Particle Physics, may reflect an equilibrium between the dynamics of the ultimate constituents of matter and the deep structure of space and time. Taking into account the observed cosmic acceleration, the present situation suggests that the value of 1 can be a natural asymptotic limit for the product H t in the long-term evolution of our Universe up to possible small corrections. In the presence of a spinorial space-time geometry, no ad hoc combination of dark matter and dark energy would in any case be needed to get an acceptable value of H and an evolution of the Universe compatible with observation. The use of a spinorial space-time naturally leads to unconventional properties for the space curvature term in Friedmann-like equations. It therefore suggests a major modification of

The parameter space for baryon inhomogeneous bigbang models is explored with the goal of determining the minimum helium abundance obtainable in such models while still satisfying the other light-element constraints. We find that the constraint of (D + He-3)/H less than 10 exp -4 restricts the primordial helium mass fraction from baryon-inhomogeneous bigbang models to be greater than 0.231 even for a scenario which optimizes the effects of the inhomogeneities and destroys the excess lithium production. Thus, this modification to the standard bigbang as well as the standard homogeneous bigbang model itself would be falsifiable by observation if the primordial He-4 abundance were observed to be less than 0.231. Furthermore, a present upper limit to the observed helium mass fraction of Y(obs)(p) less than 0.24 implies that the maximum baryon-to-photon ratio allowable in the inhomogeneous models corresponds to eta less than 2.3 x 10 exp -9 (omega(b) h-squared less than 0.088) even if all conditions are optimized.

The article "BigBang technology: What's next in design education, radical innovation or incremental change?" (Fleischmann, 2013) appeared in the "Journal of Learning Design" Volume 6, Issue 3 in 2013. Two years on, Associate Professor Fleischmann reflects upon her original article within this article. Although it has only been…

Where do we come from? How did the universe of stars, planets and people come into existence? Now revised and expanded, this second edition takes into account developments in cosmology and quantum physics since its first publication in 1986, and traces the historical path which has led physicists to an understanding of the bigbang, the fireball in which our universe was born.

In this paper, we discuss a little-studied means of communicating about or teaching the nature of science (NOS)--through fiction television. We report some results of focus group research which suggest that the American sitcom "The BigBang Theory" (2007-present), whose main characters are mostly working scientists, has influenced…

The history of the universe in a nutshell, from the BigBang to now. and on to the future - John Mather will tell the story of how we got here, how the Universe began with a BigBang, how it could have produced an Earth where sentient beings can live, and how those beings are discovering their history. Mather was Project Scientist for NASA's Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) satellite, which measured the spectrum (the color) of the heat radiation from the BigBang, discovered hot and cold spots in that radiation, and hunted for the first objects that formed after the great explosion. He will explain Einstein's biggest mistake, show how Edwin Hubble discovered the expansion of the univerre, how the COBE mission was built, and how the COBE data support the BigBang theory. He will also show NASA's plans for the next great telescope in space, the Jarnes Webb Space Telescope. It will look even farther back in time than the Hubble Space Telescope, and will look inside the dusty cocoons where rtars and planets are being born today. Planned for launch in 2013, it may lead to another Nobel Prize for some lucky observer.

We propose a picture, within the pre-big-bang approach, in which the universe emerges from a bath of plane gravitational and dilatonic waves. The waves interact gravitationally breaking the exact plane symmetry and lead generically to gravitational collapse resulting in a singularity with the

We formulate the basic postulate of pre-Big-Bang cosmology as one of 'asymptotic past triviality', by which we mean that the initial state is a generic perturbative solution of the tree-level low-energy effective action. Such a past-trivial 'string vacuum' is made of an arbitrary ensemble of incoming gravitational and dilatonic waves, and is generically prone to gravitational instability, leading to the possible formation of many black holes hiding singular space-like hypersurfaces. Each such singular space-like hypersurface of gravitational collapse becomes, in the string-frame metric, the usual Big-Bang t = 0 hypersurface, i.e. the place of birth of a baby Friedmann universe after a period of dilaton-driven inflation. Specializing to the spherically symmetric case, we review and reinterpret previous work on the subject, and propose a simple, scale-invariant criterion for collapse/inflation in terms of asymptotic data at past null infinity. Those data should determine whether, when, and where collapse/inflation occurs, and, when it does, fix its characteristics, including anisotropies on the Big-Bang hypersurface whose imprint could have survived till now. Using Bayesian probability concepts, we finally attempt to answer some fine-tuning objections recently moved to the pre-Big-Bang scenario

We study inflation and entropy generation in a recently proposed pre-big-bang model universe produced in a collision of gravitational and dilaton waves. It is shown that enough inflation occurs provided the incoming waves are sufficiently weak. We also find that entropy in this model is dynamically

The history of the universe in a nutshell, from the BigBang to now, and on to the future - John Mather will tell the story of how we got here, how the Universe began with a BigBang, how it could have produced an Earth where sentient beings can live, and how those beings are discovering their history. Mather was Project Scientist for NASA s Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) satellite, which measured the spectrum (the color) of the heat radiation from the BigBang, discovered hot and cold spots in that radiation, and hunted for the first objects that formed after the great explosion. He will explain Einstein s biggest mistake, show how Edwin Hubble discovered the expansion of the universe, how the COBE mission was built, and how the COBE data support the BigBang theory. He will also show NASA s plans for the next great telescope in space, the James Webb Space Telescope. It will look even farther back in time than the Hubble Space Telescope, and will look inside the dusty cocoons where stars and planets are being born today. Planned for launch in 2013, it may lead to another Nobel Prize for some lucky observer.

We use the R-matrix theory to fit low-energy data on nuclear reactions involved in BigBang nucleosynthesis. Special attention is paid to the rate uncertainties which are evaluated on statistical grounds. We provide S factors and reaction rates in tabular and graphical formats

We formulate the basic postulate of pre-Big-Bang cosmology as one of 'asymptotic past triviality', by which we mean that the initial state is a generic perturbative solution of the tree-level low-energy effective action. Such a past-trivial 'string vacuum' is made of an arbitrary ensemble of incoming gravitational and dilatonic waves, and is generically prone to gravitational instability, leading to the possible formation of many black holes hiding singular space-like hypersurfaces. Each such singular space-like hypersurface of gravitational collapse becomes, in the string-frame metric, the usual Big-Bang t = 0 hypersurface, i.e. the place of birth of a baby Friedmann universe after a period of dilaton-driven inflation. Specializing to the spherically symmetric case, we review and reinterpret previous work on the subject, and propose a simple, scale-invariant criterion for collapse/inflation in terms of asymptotic data at past null infinity. Those data should determine whether, when, and where collapse/inflation occurs, and, when it does, fix its characteristics, including anisotropies on the Big-Bang hypersurface whose imprint could have survived till now. Using Bayesian probability concepts, we finally attempt to answer some fine-tuning objections recently moved to the pre-Big-Bang scenario.

A Brief History of Time made Stephen Hawking famous, but he was already a world leader in cosmology. Peter Rodgers reports from the celebrations to mark Hawking's 60th birthday. Masters of the universe Stephen Hawking is the most famous physicist in the world. Indeed, the sales of Hawking's books and his appearances on The Simpsons and Star Trek have tended to overshadow his scientific achievements. But that was not the case in Cambridge last month when Hawking's contributions to physics and cosmology were celebrated at a week-long conference to mark his 60th birthday. 'We organized the meeting to look back on the immense contribution that Stephen has made to many areas of gravitational physics and cosmology,' said Gary Gibbons, one of Hawking's colleagues at Cambridge. 'We also wanted to look forward to what the future might hold for theoretical physics and cosmology, with special reference to the areas that Stephen has been most interested and most active in.' Hawking made his name with a series of papers in the 1960s on singularities in cosmology. Building on work by Roger Penrose, he showed that Einstein's general theory of relativity implied that space and time would have a beginning in the bigbang and would end in a singularity. 'How unlike particle physics, where people were falling over themselves to latch onto the latest idea. They still are.' Hawking then switched his attention to black holes - regions of space where gravity is so strong that nothing can escape. He was also one of the first physicists to make progress in combining general relativity - the classical theory of gravity - and quantum mechanics. First he showed that when two black holes collide and merge, the area of the 'event horizon' around the resulting black hole is greater than the sum of the two original areas. This led Hawking and co-workers to link the area of the event horizon, A, with the entropy of a black hole, S

Big History is the integrated history of the Cosmos, Earth, Life, and Humanity. It is an attempt to understand our existence as a continuous unfolding of processes leading to ever more complex structures. Three major steps in the development of the Universe can be distinguished, the first being the creation of matter/energy and forces in the context of an expanding universe, while the second and third steps were reached when completely new qualities of matter came into existence. 1. Matter comes out of nothing Quantum fluctuations and the inflation event are thought to be responsible for the creation of stable matter particles in what is called the BigBang. Along with simple particles the universe is formed. Later larger particles like atoms and the most simple chemical elements hydrogen and helium evolved. Gravitational contraction of hydrogen and helium formed the first stars und later on the first galaxies. Massive stars ended their lives in violent explosions releasing heavier elements like carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur and iron into the universe. Subsequent star formation led to star systems with bodies containing these heavier elements. 2. Matter starts to live About 9200 million years after the BigBang a rather inconspicous star of middle size formed in one of a billion galaxies. The leftovers of the star formation clumped into bodies rotating around the central star. In some of them elements like silicon, oxygen, iron and many other became the dominant matter. On the third of these bodies from the central star much of the surface was covered with an already very common chemical compound in the universe, water. Fluid water and plenty of various elements, especially carbon, were the ingredients of very complex chemical compounds that made up even more complex structures. These were able to replicate themselves. Life had appeared, the only occasion that we human beings know of. Life evolved subsequently leading eventually to the formation of multicellular

Analytical and numerical methods are developed to analyze the quantum nature of the bigbang in the setting of loop quantum cosmology. They enable one to explore the effects of quantum geometry both on the gravitational and matter sectors and significantly extend the known results on the resolution of the bigbang singularity. Specifically, the following results are established for the homogeneous isotropic model with a massless scalar field: (i) the scalar field is shown to serve as an internal clock, thereby providing a detailed realization of the 'emergent time' idea; (ii) the physical Hilbert space, Dirac observables, and semiclassical states are constructed rigorously; (iii) the Hamiltonian constraint is solved numerically to show that the bigbang is replaced by a big bounce. Thanks to the nonperturbative, background independent methods, unlike in other approaches the quantum evolution is deterministic across the deep Planck regime. Our constructions also provide a conceptual framework and technical tools which can be used in more general models. In this sense, they provide foundations for analyzing physical issues associated with the Planck regime of loop quantum cosmology as a whole

Born in Hanoi, the astrophysicist is Professor of astronomy at Virginia University, and wrote many books of scientific popularization. His last book "Origines" makes the family treee of the world, from the BigBang to the birth of alive beings

In the light of the recent results concerning CMB observations and GW detection we address the question of whether it is possible, in a self-consistent inflationary framework, to simultaneously generate a spectrum of scalar metric perturbations in agreement with Planck data and a stochastic background of primordial gravitational radiation compatible with the design sensitivity of aLIGO/Virgo and/or eLISA. We suggest that this is possible in a string cosmology context, for a wide region of the parameter space of the so-called pre-bigbang models. We also discuss the associated values of the tensor-to-scalar ratio relevant to the CMB polarization experiments. We conclude that future, cross-correlated results from CMB observations and GW detectors will be able to confirm or disprove pre-bigbang models and—in any case—will impose new significant constraints on the basic string theory/cosmology parameters.

The cosmic microwave background radiation is the afterglow of the bigbang: a tenuous signal, more than 13 billion years old, which carries the answers to many of the questions about the nature of our Universe. It was serendipitously discovered in 1964, and thoroughly investigated in the last four decades by a large number of experiments. Two Nobel Prizes in Physics have already been awarded for research on the cosmic background radiation: one in 1978 to Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson, who first discovered it, the other in 2006, to George Smoot and John Mather, for the results of the COBE satellite. Most cosmological information is encoded in the cosmic background radiation by acoustic oscillations in the dense plasma that filled the primordial Universe: a "music" of the bigbang, which cosmologists have long been trying to reconstruct and analyze, in order to distinguish different cosmological models, much like one can distinguish different musical instruments by their timbre and overtones. Only lately, this...

Astronomical observations have confirmed the existence of BHs and the occurrence of the BigBang event to beyond any reasonable doubt. While quantum field theory and general theory of relativity predict the mass-spectrum of BHs to be unlimited, both theories agree that their creation is irreversible. In this article I argue that the recently-proposed SuSu-objects (: objects that are made of incompressible superconducting gluon-qurak superfluids), may not only entail the required properties to be excellent BH-candidates, but also encoding a hidden connection to dark matter and dark energy in cosmology. If such connection indeed exists, then the inevitable consequence would be that our universe is infinite and subject to repeated BigBang events of the second kind, which makes the habitability of the universe certain and our cosmic relevance insignificant and meaningless.

Typically, bigbang bifurcation occurs for one (or higher)-dimensional piecewise-defined discontinuous systems whenever two border collision bifurcation curves collide transversely in the parameter space. At that point, two (feasible) fixed points collide with one boundary in state space and become virtual, and, in the one-dimensional case, the map becomes continuous. Depending on the properties of the map near the codimension-two bifurcation point, there exist different scenarios regarding how the infinite number of periodic orbits are born, mainly the so-called period adding and period incrementing. In our work we prove that, in order to undergo a bigbang bifurcation of the period incrementing type, it is sufficient for a piecewise-defined one-dimensional map that the colliding fixed points are attractive and with associated eigenvalues of different signs

We discuss the mechanism of reheating in pre-big-bang string cosmology and we calculate the amount of moduli and gravitinos produced gravitationally and in scattering processes of the thermal bath. We find that this abundance always exceeds the limits imposed by big-bang nucleosynthesis, and significant entropy production is required. The exact amount of entropy needed depends on the details of the high curvature phase between the dilaton-driven inflationary era and the radiation era. We show that the domination and decay of the zero-mode of a modulus field, which could well be the dilaton, or of axions, suffices to dilute moduli and gravitinos. In this context, baryogenesis can be accommodated in a simple way via the Affleck-Dine mechanism and in some cases the Affleck-Dine condensate could provide both the source of entropy and the baryon asymmetry

In the light of the recent results concerning CMB observations and GW detection we address the question of whether it is possible, in a self-consistent inflationary framework, to simultaneously generate a spectrum of scalar metric perturbations in agreement with Planck data and a stochastic background of primordial gravitational radiation compatible with the design sensitivity of aLIGO/Virgo and/or eLISA. We suggest that this is possible in a string cosmology context, for a wide region of the parameter space of the so-called pre-bigbang models. We also discuss the associated values of the tensor-to-scalar ratio relevant to the CMB polarization experiments. We conclude that future, cross-correlated results from CMB observations and GW detectors will be able to confirm or disprove pre-bigbang models and—in any case—will impose new significant constraints on the basic string theory/cosmology parameters.

The so-called curvaton mechanism--a way to convert isocurvature perturbations into adiabatic ones--is investigated both analytically and numerically in a pre-big-bang scenario where the role of the curvaton is played by a sufficiently massive Kalb-Ramond axion of superstring theory. When combined with observations of CMBR anisotropies at large and moderate angular scales, the present analysis allows us to constrain quite considerably the parameter space of the model: in particular, the initial displacement of the axion from the minimum of its potential and the rate of evolution of the compactification volume during pre-big-bang inflation. The combination of theoretical and experimental constraints favors a slightly blue spectrum of scalar perturbations, and/or a value of the string scale in the vicinity of the SUSY GUT scale

The photon analyzing power for the photodisintegration of the deuteron was measured for seven gamma-ray energies between 2.39 and 4.05 MeV using the linearly polarized gamma-ray beam of the high-intensity gamma-ray source at the Duke Free-Electron Laser Laboratory. The data provide a stringent test of theoretical calculations for the inverse reaction, the neutron-proton radiative capture reaction at energies important for Big-Bang nucleosynthesis. Our data are in excellent agreement with potential model and effective field theory calculations. Therefore, the uncertainty in the baryon density Ω B h 2 obtained from Big-Bang Nucleosynthesis can be reduced at least by 20%

The photon analyzing power for the photodisintegration of the deuteron was measured for seven gamma-ray energies between 2.39 and 4.05 MeV using the linearly polarized gamma-ray beam of the high-intensity gamma-ray source at the Duke Free-Electron Laser Laboratory. The data provide a stringent test of theoretical calculations for the inverse reaction, the neutron-proton radiative capture reaction at energies important for Big-Bang nucleosynthesis. Our data are in excellent agreement with potential model and effective field theory calculations. Therefore, the uncertainty in the baryon density {omega}{sub B}h{sup 2} obtained from Big-Bang Nucleosynthesis can be reduced at least by 20%.

Typically, bigbang bifurcation occurs for one (or higher)-dimensional piecewise-defined discontinuous systems whenever two border collision bifurcation curves collide transversely in the parameter space. At that point, two (feasible) fixed points collide with one boundary in state space and become virtual, and, in the one-dimensional case, the map becomes continuous. Depending on the properties of the map near the codimension-two bifurcation point, there exist different scenarios regarding how the infinite number of periodic orbits are born, mainly the so-called period adding and period incrementing. In our work we prove that, in order to undergo a bigbang bifurcation of the period incrementing type, it is sufficient for a piecewise-defined one-dimensional map that the colliding fixed points are attractive and with associated eigenvalues of different signs.

The three greatest scientific mysteries, which remain poorly understood, are the origin of the universe, the origin of life and the development of consciousness. This book describes the processes preceding the BigBang, the creation of matter, the concentration of that matter into stars and planets, the development of simple life forms and the theory of evolution that has given higher life forms, including mankind. Readership: Members of the general public who have an interest in popular science. There are many popular and excellent science books that present various aspects of science. However, this book follows a narrow scientific pathway from the BigBang to mankind, and depicts the causal relationship between each step and the next. The science covered will be enough to satisfy most readers. Many important areas of science are dealt with, and these include cosmology, particle physics, atomic physics, galaxy and star formation, planet formation and aspects of evolution. The necessary science is described i...

The so-called curvaton mechanism --a way to convert isocurvature perturbations into adiabatic ones-- is investigated both analytically and numerically in a pre-bigbang scenario where the role of the curvaton is played by a sufficiently massive Kalb--Ramond axion of superstring theory. When combined with observations of CMBR anisotropies at large and moderate angular scales, the present analysis allows us to constrain quite considerably the parameter space of the model: in particular, the initial displacement of the axion from the minimum of its potential and the rate of evolution of the compactification volume during pre-bigbang inflation. The combination of theoretical and experimental constraints favours a slightly blue spectrum of scalar perturbations, and/or a value of the string scale in the vicinity of the SUSY-GUT scale.

The t<0 branch of pre-bigbang cosmological scenarios is subject to a gravitational wave instability. The unstable behaviour of tensor perturbations is derived in a very simple way in Hwang's covariant and gauge-invariant formalism developed for extended theories of gravity. A simple interpretation of this instability as the effect of an ''antifriction'' is given, and it is argued that a universe must eventually enter the expanding phase. (orig.)

The outstanding cation complexation properties emerging from the pioneering studies on calixarene ligands during a five-year period in the early 1980s triggered a big-bang burst of publications on such macrocycles that is still lasting at a distance of more than 30 years. A time-lapse photography of this timeframe is proposed which allows the readers to pinpoint the contributions of the different research groups.

The baryon symmetric big-bang cosmologies offer an explanation of the present photon-baryon ratio in the universe, the best present explanation of the diffuse gamma-ray background spectrum in the 1-200 MeV range, and a mechanism for galaxy formation. In regard to He production, evidence is discussed that nucleosynthesis of He may have taken place after the galaxies were formed.

We performed new BigBang Nucleosynthesis simulations with the bigbangonline.org suite of codes to determine, from the nuclear physics perspective, the highest achievable precision of the constraint on the baryon-to-photo ratio η given current observational uncertainties. We also performed sensitivity studies to determine the impact that particular nuclear physics measurements would have on the uncertainties of predicted abundances and on the η constraint.

We performed new BigBang Nucleosynthesis simulations with the bigbangonline.org suite of codes to determine, from the nuclear physics perspective, the highest achievable precision of the constraint on the baryon-to-photo ratio η given current observational uncertainties. We also performed sensitivity studies to determine the impact that particular nuclear physics measurements would have on the uncertainties of predicted abundances and on the η constraint

We ran new BigBang Nucleosynthesis simulations with the bigbangonline.org suite of codes to determine, from the nuclear physics perspective, the highest achievable precision of the constraint on the baryon-to-photo ratio eta given current observational uncertainties. We also ran sensitivity studies to determine the impact that particular nuclear physics measurements would have on the uncertainties of predicted abundances and on the eta constraint

""Trefil surpasses almost all other scientists writing about science"" "- The New York Times""Fascinating reading. A mind-stretching book."" - John Barkham ReviewsCompelling and lucid, this reader-friendly narrative travels billions of years back in time to depict the events that culminated in the BigBang: the colossal explosion that initiated the existence of the universe. James Trefil is one of the founders of modern quark theory, and he specializes in explaining complex scientific matters to nonspecialists.

The interaction of light with the intergalactic plasma produces the Hubble red shift versus distance relationship. This interaction also produces an isotopic long wavelength background radiation from the plasma. Intrinsic red shifts in quasars and other objects are similarly explained, showing why they are exceptions to Hubble's law. Because the red shift is not doppler-shifted, bigbang cosmological models should be replaced with static models. (author).

"The world's largest machine is reputed to be the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN in Geneva and everything about it is big. Designed to carry out high energy particle collisions, when completed next year, one of the collider's experiments includes a 10'000 ton detector." (1/2 page)

Sunday 2 June 2013 will see the launch of CERN’s Passport to the BigBang, a scientific tourist trail linking ten of the Laboratory’s sites in the Pays de Gex and the Canton of Geneva. CERN is organising a public event to celebrate the launch and needs lots of volunteers – you could be one of them! The exhibition platform in Sergy, in front of the ALICE experiment. Does your grocer insist that the Pays de Gex is going to be swallowed up by a black hole made by the LHC? Do your neighbours ask you questions about the CERN site visible from your houses, leaving you stumped when you don’t have the answers? Well then, take them on an accelerator tour – but above ground and with no need for access cards! How? By taking advantage of the Passport to the BigBang, a cross-border scientific tourist trail that will be inaugurated on 2 June. The goal of the Passport to the BigBang is provide the local population wi...

Until recently, the physically relevant singularities occurring in FRW cosmologies had traditionally been thought to be limited to the 'bigbang', and possibly a 'big crunch'. However, over the last few years, the zoo of cosmological singularities considered in the literature has become considerably more extensive, with 'big rips' and 'sudden singularities' added to the mix, as well as renewed interest in nonsingular cosmological events such as 'bounces' and 'turnarounds'. In this paper we present an extensive catalogue of such cosmological milestones, both at the kinematical and dynamical level. First, using generalized power series, purely kinematical definitions of these cosmological events are provided in terms of the behaviour of the scale factor a(t). The notion of a 'scale-factor singularity' is defined, and its relation to curvature singularities (polynomial and differential) is explored. Second, dynamical information is extracted by using the Friedmann equations (without assuming even the existence of any equation of state) to place constraints on whether or not the classical energy conditions are satisfied at the cosmological milestones. We use these considerations to derive necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of cosmological milestones such as bangs, bounces, crunches, rips, sudden singularities and extremality events. Since the classification is extremely general and, modulo certain technical assumptions, is complete, the corresponding results are to a high degree model independent: in particular, we provide a characterization of the class of bangs, crunches and sudden singularities for which the dominant energy condition is satisfied

While most of the singularities of General Relativity are expected to be safely hidden behind event horizons by the cosmic censorship conjecture, we happen to live in the causal future of the classical BigBang singularity, whose resolution constitutes the active field of early universe cosmology. Could the BigBang be also hidden behind a causal horizon, making us immune to the decadent impacts of a naked singularity? We describe a braneworld description of cosmology with both 4d induced and 5D bulk gravity (otherwise known as Dvali-Gabadadze-Porati, or DGP model), which exhibits this feature: the universe emerges as a spherical 3-brane out of the formation of a 5D Schwarzschild black hole. In particular, we show that a pressure singularity of the holographic fluid, discovered earlier, happens inside the white hole horizon, and thus need not be real or imply any pathology. Furthermore, we outline a novel mechanism through which any thermal atmosphere for the brane, with comoving temperature of ∼20% of the 5D Planck mass can induce scale-invariant primordial curvature perturbations on the brane, circumventing the need for a separate process (such as cosmic inflation) to explain current cosmological observations. Finally, we note that 5D space-time is asymptotically flat, and thus potentially allows an S-matrix or (after minor modifications) an AdS/CFT description of the cosmological BigBang

In this work we consider new one-dimensional populational discrete dynamical systems in which the growth of the population is described by a family of von Bertalanffy's functions, as a dynamical approach to von Bertalanffy's growth equation. The purpose of introducing Allee effect in those models is satisfied under a correction factor of polynomial type. We study classes of von Bertalanffy's functions with different types of Allee effect: strong and weak Allee's functions. Dependent on the variation of four parameters, von Bertalanffy's functions also includes another class of important functions: functions with no Allee effect. The complex bifurcation structures of these von Bertalanffy's functions is investigated in detail. We verified that this family of functions has particular bifurcation structures: the bigbang bifurcation of the so-called “box-within-a-box” type. The bigbang bifurcation is associated to the asymptotic weight or carrying capacity. This work is a contribution to the study of the bigbang bifurcation analysis for continuous maps and their relationship with explosion birth and extinction phenomena.

The extremely low isotope ratio of 6 Li had remained as a drawback of the Big-Bang Nucleosynthesis (BBN) until Pospelov proposed the 6 Li synthesis reaction catalyzed by negatively charged electroweak-scale particle X - in 2006. He remarked the catalytic enhancement of 6 Li production by about 10 8 times, as well as the life and initial abundance of X - . The present authors classified BBN catalyzed reaction into six types, i.e. (1) non-resonant transfer, (2) resonant transfer, (3) non-resonant radiative capture, (4) resonant radiative capture, (5) three-body breakup and (6) charge transfer reactions to predict absolute values of cross sections which cannot be observed experimentally. Starting from the three-body treatment for those reactions, 6 Li problems, the life-time and abundance of stau are discussed. Large change of element composition at 'late-time' bigbang, generation of 9 Be by stau catalyzed reaction, 7 Li problem and stau catalyzed reactions are also discussed. Finally their relations with the supersymmetry theory and dark matter are mentioned. The basic nuclear calculations are providing quantitative base for the 'effect of nuclear reactions catalyzed by the supersymmetric particle stau on bigbang nucleosynthesis'. (S. Funahashi)

This New View of the BigBang Theory results from the Dimensional Continuous Space-Time Theory, for which the introduction was presented in [1]. This theory is based on the concept that the primitive Universe before the BigBang was constituted only from elementary cells of potential energy disposed side by side. In the primitive Universe there were no particles, charges, movement and the Universe temperature was absolute zero Kelvin. The time was always present, even in the primitive Universe, time is the integral part of the empty space, it is the dynamic energy of space and it is responsible for the movement of matter and energy inside the Universe. The empty space is totally stationary; the primitive Universe was infinite and totally occupied by elementary cells of potential energy. In its event, the BigBang started a production of matter, charges, energy liberation, dynamic movement, temperature increase and the conformation of galaxies respecting a specific formation law. This article presents the theoretical formation of the Galaxies starting from a basic equation of the Dimensional Continuous Space-time Theory.

The first collider tests of cosmological theory are now underway. The number of neutrino families in nature, N/sub nu/, plays a key role in elementary particle physics as well as in the synthesis of the light elements during the early evolution of the Universe. Standard BigBang Nucleosynthesis argues for N/sub nu/ = 3 +- 1. Current limits on N/sub nu/ from the CERN anti pp collider and e + e - colliders are presented and compared to the cosmological bound. Supernova SN 1987A is also shown to give a limit on N/sub nu/ comparable to current accelerator bounds. All numbers are found to be small thus verifying the BigBang model at an earlier epoch than is possible by traditional astronomical observations. Future measurements at SLC and LEP will further tighten this argument. Another key prediction of the standard BigBang Nucleosynthesis is that the baryon density must be small (Ω/sub B/ ≤ 0.1). Recent attempts to try to subvert this argument using homogeneities of various types are shown to run afoul of the 7 Li abundance which has now become a rather firm constraint. 18 refs., 2 figs

Full Text Available This study deals with the form and the function of caretaker speech which is found in caretaker’s utterance in Nanny McPhee and The BigBang Movie. The objectives of this study are (1 to describe the type of language form of the caretaker and (2 to describe the type of language function of the caretaker found in Nanny McPhee and The BigBang Movie. The type of this research is descriptive qualitative research. The data of this research are the utterance from the caretaker found in manuscript of Nanny McPhee and The BigBang Movie. The data collection technique is documentation. The technique of analyzing data are descriptive qualitative. The writer uses the theories from Frank (1972 to analyze the type of language form, and M.A.K. Halliday (1977 to analyze the type of language function. The result of this study shows that (1 there are four types of word: noun, verb, adjective, and adverb; three types of phrase: noun phrase, verb phrase, and adverb phrase; and two types of sentence categorized into two. The first category is based on type, namely: declarative, imperative, interrogative, and exclamatory sentence; the second one by number of full predication, namely: simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex sentence. (2 The writer found 6 types of language function, they are: regulatory function, instrumental function, representational function, personal function, interactional function, and imaginative function.

While most of the singularities of General Relativity are expected to be safely hidden behind event horizons by the cosmic censorship conjecture, we happen to live in the causal future of the classical BigBang singularity, whose resolution constitutes the active field of early universe cosmology. Could the BigBang be also hidden behind a causal horizon, making us immune to the decadent impacts of a naked singularity? We describe a braneworld description of cosmology with both 4d induced and 5D bulk gravity (otherwise known as Dvali-Gabadadze-Porati, or DGP model), which exhibits this feature: the universe emerges as a spherical 3-brane out of the formation of a 5D Schwarzschild black hole. In particular, we show that a pressure singularity of the holographic fluid, discovered earlier, happens inside the white hole horizon, and thus need not be real or imply any pathology. Furthermore, we outline a novel mechanism through which any thermal atmosphere for the brane, with comoving temperature of ∼20% of the 5D Planck mass can induce scale-invariant primordial curvature perturbations on the brane, circumventing the need for a separate process (such as cosmic inflation) to explain current cosmological observations. Finally, we note that 5D space-time is asymptotically flat, and thus potentially allows an S-matrix or (after minor modifications) an AdS/CFT description of the cosmological BigBang.

This New View of the BigBang Theory results from the Dimensional Continuous Space-Time Theory, for which the introduction was presented in [1]. This theory is based on the concept that the primitive Universe before the BigBang was constituted only from elementary cells of potential energy disposed side by side. In the primitive Universe there were no particles, charges, movement and the Universe temperature was absolute zero Kelvin. The time was always present, even in the primitive Universe, time is the integral part of the empty space, it is the dynamic energy of space and it is responsible for the movement of matter and energy inside the Universe. The empty space is totally stationary; the primitive Universe was infinite and totally occupied by elementary cells of potential energy. In its event, the BigBang started a production of matter, charges, energy liberation, dynamic movement, temperature increase and the conformation of galaxies respecting a specific formation law. This article presents the theoretical formation of the Galaxies starting from a basic equation of the Dimensional Continuous Space-time Theory.

While most of the singularities of General Relativity are expected to be safely hidden behind event horizons by the cosmic censorship conjecture, we happen to live in the causal future of the classical BigBang singularity, whose resolution constitutes the active field of early universe cosmology. Could the BigBang be also hidden behind a causal horizon, making us immune to the decadent impacts of a naked singularity? We describe a braneworld description of cosmology with both 4d induced and 5D bulk gravity (otherwise known as Dvali-Gabadadze-Porati, or DGP model), which exhibits this feature: the universe emerges as a spherical 3-brane out of the formation of a 5D Schwarzschild black hole. In particular, we show that a pressure singularity of the holographic fluid, discovered earlier, happens inside the white hole horizon, and thus need not be real or imply any pathology. Furthermore, we outline a novel mechanism through which any thermal atmosphere for the brane, with comoving temperature of ~20% of the 5D Planck mass can induce scale-invariant primordial curvature perturbations on the brane, circumventing the need for a separate process (such as cosmic inflation) to explain current cosmological observations. Finally, we note that 5D space-time is asymptotically flat, and thus potentially allows an S-matrix or (after minor modifications) an AdS/CFT description of the cosmological BigBang.

Full Text Available Through the ages the debate between theology and the natural sciencesconcerning the origin of the universe was turbulent. Today the big bangtheory is almost generally accepted in scientific circles. In this article thedebate between theology and science is evaluated critically. The theologicalimplications of the bigbang theory is discussed and the relevance of thecosmogony in Genesis 1 for a modem society is evaluated. Biblical modelsand scientific models of the birth of the cosmos do not have to be in conflictwith each other.

A multi-nation effort at Gemeva-based CERN laboratory to recreate conditions existing just after the Big Ban could give vital clues to the creation of the universe and help overcome prejudices against this widely held scientific theory, an eminent science writer said in Kolkata on Tuesday

We consider a spatially homogeneous and isotropic system of Dirac particles coupled to classical gravity. The dust and radiation dominated closed Friedmann-Robertson-Walker space-times are recovered as limiting cases. We find a mechanism where quantum oscillations of the Dirac wave functions can prevent the formation of the bigbang or big crunch singularity. Thus before the big crunch, the collapse of the universe is stopped by quantum effects and reversed to an expansion, so that the universe opens up entering a new era of classical behavior. Numerical examples of such space-times are given, and the dependence on various parameters is discussed. Generically, one has a collapse after a finite number of cycles. By fine-tuning the parameters we construct an example of a space-time which satisfies the dominant energy condition and is time-periodic, thus running through an infinite number of contraction and expansion cycles.

The critical analysis of the foundations of the theory of BigBang is proposed. The unity of formal logic and of rational dialectics is methodological basis of the analysis. It is argued that the starting point of the theory of BigBang contains three fundamental logical errors. The first error is the assumption that a macroscopic object (having qualitative determinacy) can have an arbitrarily small size and can be in the singular state (i.e., in the state that has no qualitative determinacy). This assumption implies that the transition, (macroscopic object having the qualitative determinacy) --> (singular state of matter that has no qualitative determinacy), leads to loss of information contained in the macroscopic object. The second error is the assumption that there are the void and the boundary between matter and void. But if such boundary existed, then it would mean that the void has dimensions and can be measured. The third error is the assumption that the singular state of matter can make a transition into the normal state without the existence of the program of qualitative and quantitative development of the matter, without controlling influence of other (independent) object. However, these assumptions conflict with the practice and, consequently, formal logic, rational dialectics, and cybernetics. Indeed, from the point of view of cybernetics, the transition, (singular state of the Universe) -->(normal state of the Universe),would be possible only in the case if there was the Managed Object that is outside the Universe and have full, complete, and detailed information about the Universe. Thus, the theory of BigBang is a scientific fiction.

Students enter introductory astronomy classes with ideas about the universe that are often misaligned with accepted scientific beliefs. In this presentation we will describe the results from a multi-semester study of urban minority students’ ideas in an introductory astronomy course. We use in-depth student interviews, homework assignments, lab responses, and exams to identify pre-instructional ideas. We also examine the resilience of alternate conceptions to modification through instruction. In this presentation we focus on students’ ideas with regards to the BigBang, the age of the Universe, and the expansion of the Universe over time. We find that a significant fraction of students enter our astronomy courses with alternate conceptions, including that the BigBang refers to an explosion from a small, single point in space, that there is no evidence for the BigBang, that there is a center to our Universe, that the Universe expands into pre-existing matter, and that the Universe has either a much smaller or much larger age than its accepted age. Some of these alternate conceptions are relatively easy to overcome through active learning (for example, whether there is a center to the Universe), while others are more resistant to change (for example, whether the Universe expands into pre-existing matter). Also see our presentations on student ideas of structure and distances (Camarillo et al.) as well as the overview of our methodology (Coble et al.). This work was supported by NASA ROSES E/PO Grant #NNX1OAC89G, as well as by the Illinois Space Grant Consortium and National Science Foundation CCLI Grant #0632563 at Chicago State University and the Fermi E/PO program at Sonoma State University.

We study D-branes in the Nappi-Witten model, which is a gauged WZW model based on (SL(2,R) x SU(2))/(U(1) x U(1)). The model describes a four dimensional space-time consisting of cosmological regions with bigbang/big crunch singularities and static regions with closed time-like curves. The aim of this paper is to investigate by D-brane probes whether there are pathologies associated with the cosmological singularities and the closed time-like curves. We first classify D-branes in a group theoretical way, and then examine DBI actions for effective theories on the D-branes. In particular, we show that D-brane metric from the DBI action does not include singularities, and wave functions on the D-branes are well behaved even in the presence of closed time-like curves.

We discuss here the efficiency of coalescence during the late phases of a baryon symmetric BigBang Cosmology. We show that during the radiative period, coalescence cannot be as efficient as it was stated in a previous paper. During the matter dominated period, matter and antimatter might be separated on the scale of clusters of galaxies, but only at the expense of substantive distorsions of the 2.7 K black body background radiation. We compute lower limits to these distorsions as functions of the density of matter in the universe and show that only in the case of a very dilute universe can these values be reconciled with experimental results. (orig.) [de

We present simple solutions of IKKT-type matrix models that can be viewed as quantized homogeneous and isotropic cosmological space-times, with finite density of microstates and a regular BigBang (BB). The BB arises from a signature change of the effective metric on a fuzzy brane embedded in Lorentzian target space, in the presence of a quantized 4-volume form. The Hubble parameter is singular at the BB, and becomes small at late times. There is no singularity from the target space point of view, and the brane is Euclidean "before" the BB. Both recollapsing and expanding universe solutions are obtained, depending on the mass parameters.

The baryon symmetric big-bang cosmologies offer an explanation of the present photon-baryon ratio in the universe, the best present explanation of the diffuse gamma-ray background spectrum in the 1 to 200 MeV range, and a mechanism for galaxy formation. In the context of an open universe model, the value of omega which best fits the present gamma-ray data is omega equals approx. 0.1 which does not conflict with upper limits on Comptonization distortion of the 3K background radiation. In regard to He production, evidence is discussed that nucleosynthesis of He may have taken place after the galaxies were formed.

We study the effects of dark-matter annihilation during the epoch of big-bang nucleosynthesis on the primordial abundances of light elements. We improve the calculation of the light-element abundances by taking into account the effects of anti-nucleons emitted by the annihilation of dark matter and the interconversion reactions of neutron and proton at inelastic scatterings of energetic nucleons. Comparing the theoretical prediction of the primordial light-element abundances with the latest observational constraints, we derive upper bounds on the dark-matter pair-annihilation cross section. Implication to some of particle-physics models are also discussed.

Full Text Available We study the effects of dark-matter annihilation during the epoch of big-bang nucleosynthesis on the primordial abundances of light elements. We improve the calculation of the light-element abundances by taking into account the effects of anti-nucleons emitted by the annihilation of dark matter and the interconversion reactions of neutron and proton at inelastic scatterings of energetic nucleons. Comparing the theoretical prediction of the primordial light-element abundances with the latest observational constraints, we derive upper bounds on the dark-matter pair-annihilation cross section. Implication to some of particle-physics models are also discussed.

The Friedmann model PHI of positive space curvature, vanishing pressure and cosmological constant when isometrically imbedded as a hypersurface in five-dimensional Minkowski space M 5 is globally rigid: if F(PHI) and F'(PHI) are isometric embeddings in M 5 there is a motion π of M 5 such that F'=π 0 F. The bigbang singularity is the vertex of a null half-cone in M 5 . Global rigidity leads to an invariant characterization of the singularity. The structure of matter at the singularity is governed by the de Sitter group. (author)

In the background of a flat homogeneous and isotropic space-time, we consider a scenario of the Universe driven by the gravitationally induced ‘adiabatic’ particle production with constant creation rate. We have shown that this Universe attains a bigbang singularity in the past and at late-time it asymptotically becomes de Sitter. To clarify this model Universe, we performed a dynamical analysis and found that the Universe attains a thermodynamic equilibrium in this late de Sitter phase. Finally, for the first time, we have discussed the possible effects of ‘adiabatic’ particle creations in the context of loop quantum cosmology.

We revisit a collapsing pre-big-bang model of the universe to study with detail the non-perturbative quantum dynamics of the dispersal scalar field whose dynamics becomes from the dynamical foliation of test massless scalar field {phi} on a 5D Riemann-flat metric, such that the extra space-like coordinate is noncompact. The important result here obtained is that the evolution of the system, which is described thorough the equation of state has the unique origin in the quantum contributions of the effective 4D scalar field {phi}{sup Macron }.

The Friedmann model PHI of positive space curvature, vanishing pressure and cosmological constant when isometrically imbedded as a hypersurface in five-dimensional Minkowski space MV is globally rigid: if F(PHI) and F'(PHI) are isometric embeddings in MV there is a motion of MV such that F'= F. The bigbang singularity is the vertex of a null half-cone in MV. Global rigidity leads to an invariant characterization of the singularity. The structure of matter at the singularity is governed by the de Sitter group.

We revisit a collapsing pre-big-bang model of the universe to study with detail the non-perturbative quantum dynamics of the dispersal scalar field whose dynamics becomes from the dynamical foliation of test massless scalar field φ on a 5D Riemann-flat metric, such that the extra space-like coordinate is noncompact. The important result here obtained is that the evolution of the system, which is described thorough the equation of state has the unique origin in the quantum contributions of the effective 4D scalar field φ¯.

We study the big-bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) scenario with late-decaying exotic particles with lifetime longer than {approx}1 s. With a late-decaying particle in the early universe, predictions of the standard BBN scenario can be significantly altered. Therefore, we derive constraints on its primordial abundance. We pay particular attention to hadronic decay modes of such particles. We see that the non-thermal production process of D, {sup 3}He and {sup 6}Li provides a stringent upper bound on the primordial abundance of late-decaying particles with hadronic branching ratio.

In the background of a flat homogeneous and isotropic space–time, we consider a scenario of the Universe driven by the gravitationally induced ‘adiabatic’ particle production with constant creation rate. We have shown that this Universe attains a bigbang singularity in the past and at late-time it asymptotically becomes de Sitter. To clarify this model Universe, we performed a dynamical analysis and found that the Universe attains a thermodynamic equilibrium in this late de Sitter phase. Finally, for the first time, we have discussed the possible effects of ‘adiabatic’ particle creations in the context of loop quantum cosmology. (paper)

The baryon symmetric big-bang cosmologies offer an explanation of the present photon-baryon ratio in the universe, the best present explanation of the diffuse γ-ray background spectrum in the 1-200 MeV range, and a mechanism for galaxy formation. In the context of an open universe model, the value of Ω which best fits the present γ-ray data is Ω approximately equal to 0.1 which does not conflict with upper limits on comptonization distortion of the 3K background radiation. In regard to He production, evidence is discussed that nucleosynthesis of He may have taken place after the galaxies were formed

We consider the effect of a small-scale matter-antimatter domain structure on bigbang nucleosynthesis and place upper limits on the amount of antimatter in the early universe. For small domains, which annihilate before nucleosynthesis, this limit comes from underproduction of 4He. For larger domains, the limit comes from 3He overproduction. Since most of the 3He from &pmacr; 4He annihilation are themselves annihilated, the main source of primordial 3He is the photodisintegration of 4He by the electromagnetic cascades initiated by the annihilation.

However, it is not yet clear in science education if students’ conceptions about the BigBang vary by nationality, and therefore, if it is possible to apply the same teaching modules to students from different countries, who may have diverse social and cultural backgrounds and different curricula. These conceptions with which students enter the classroom were investigated in our study. We implemented an open-ended questionnaire survey in Germany, with questions based on recent U.S. studies. The results clearly showed, with high interrater reliabilities, widespread misconceptions like the BigBang being an explosion of preexisting matter into empty space or the universe having a centre. Furthermore, a comparison of results from researchers in the USA, Sweden and Germany allowed us to identify differences in students’ conceptions between the countries. Our findings appear to indicate that German students have slightly better pre-instructional conceptions about the BigBang theory.

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We investigate constraints on Lorentz invariance violation in the neutrino sector from a joint analysis of bigbang nucleosynthesis and the cosmic microwave background. The effect of Lorentz invariance violation during the epoch of bigbang nucleosynthesis changes the predicted helium-4 abundance, which influences the power spectrum of the cosmic microwave background at the recombination epoch. In combination with the latest measurement of the primordial helium-4 abundance, the Planck 2015 data of the cosmic microwave background anisotropies give a strong constraint on the deformation parameter since adding the primordial helium measurement breaks the degeneracy between the deformation parameter and the physical dark matter density.

We investigate constraints on Lorentz invariance violation in the neutrino sector from a joint analysis of bigbang nucleosynthesis and the cosmic microwave background. The effect of Lorentz invariance violation during the epoch of bigbang nucleosynthesis changes the predicted helium-4 abundance, which influences the power spectrum of the cosmic microwave background at the recombination epoch. In combination with the latest measurement of the primordial helium-4 abundance, the Planck 2015 data of the cosmic microwave background anisotropies give a strong constraint on the deformation parameter since adding the primordial helium measurement breaks the degeneracy between the deformation parameter and the physical dark matter density. (orig.)

We investigate constraints on Lorentz invariance violation in the neutrino sector from a joint analysis of bigbang nucleosynthesis and the cosmic microwave background. The effect of Lorentz invariance violation during the epoch of bigbang nucleosynthesis changes the predicted helium-4 abundance, which influences the power spectrum of the cosmic microwave background at the recombination epoch. In combination with the latest measurement of the primordial helium-4 abundance, the Planck 2015 data of the cosmic microwave background anisotropies give a strong constraint on the deformation parameter since adding the primordial helium measurement breaks the degeneracy between the deformation parameter and the physical dark matter density. (orig.)

Word has been going around for weeks now about the inauguration of the Passport to the BigBang on Sunday 2 June. Ideal for a family day out or a day with friends, this is a CERN event not to be missed! The Passport to the BigBang is a 54-km scientific tourist trail comprising ten exhibition platforms in front of ten CERN sites in the Pays de Gex and the Canton of Geneva. Linked by cycle routes, these ten platforms will mark the same number of stages in the rally for competitive cyclists and the bicycle tour for families taking place this Sunday from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. But that’s not all: from 2 p.m., you will also have the chance to take part in a huge range of activities provided by clubs and associations from CERN and the local region. Watch an oriental dance show, have a go at building detectors out of Kapla blocks and Lego, meet different reptile species, learn about wind instruments, try your hand at Nordic walking or Zumba fitness, get a better understanding of road safety...

Low-mass stars, ∼ 1-2 solar masses, near the Main Sequence are efficient at producing 3 He, which they mix into the convective envelope on the giant branch and should distribute into the Galaxy by way of envelope loss. This process is so efficient that it is difficult to reconcile the low observed cosmic abundance of 3 He with the predictions of both stellar and BigBang nucleosynthesis. In this paper we find, by modeling a red giant with a fully three-dimensional hydrodynamic code and a full nucleosynthetic network, that mixing arises in the supposedly stable and radiative zone between the hydrogen-burning shell and the base of the convective envelope. This mixing is due to Rayleigh-Taylor instability within a zone just above the hydrogen-burning shell, where a nuclear reaction lowers the mean molecular weight slightly. Thus we are able to remove the threat that 3 He production in low-mass stars poses to the BigBang nucleosynthesis of 3 He

What if you could become God, with the ability to build a whole new universe? As startling as it sounds, modern physics suggests that within the next two decades, scientists may be able to perform this seemingly divine feat-to concoct an entirely new baby universe, complete with its own physical laws, star systems, galaxies, and even intelligent life. A BigBang in a Little Room takes the reader on a journey through the history of cosmology and unravels-particle by particle, theory by theory, and experiment by experiment-the ideas behind this provocative claim made by some of the most respected physicists alive today. Beyond simply explaining the science, A BigBang in a Little Room also tells the story of the people who have been laboring for more than thirty years to make this seemingly impossible dream a reality. What has driven them to continue on what would seem, at first glance, to be a quixotic quest? This mind-boggling book reveals that we can nurse other worlds in the tiny confines of a lab, raising...

In the first chapters the author describes how our knowledge of the position of Earth in space and time has developed, thanks to the work of many generations of astronomers and physicists. He discusses how our position in the Galaxy was discovered, and how in 1929, Hubble uncovered the fact that the Universe is expanding, leading to the picture of the BigBang. He then explains how astronomers have found that the laws of physics that were discovered here on Earth and in the Solar System (the laws of mechanics, gravity, atomic physics, electromagnetism, etc.) are valid throughout the Universe. This is illustrated by the fact that all matter in the Universe consists of atoms of the same chemical elements that we know on Earth. This unity is all the more surprising when one realizes that in the original BigBang theory, different parts of the Universe could never have communicated with each other. It then is a mystery how they could have shared the same physical laws. This problem was solved by the introduction ...

The identification of galaxies in the first billion years after the BigBang presents a challenge for even the largest optical telescopes. When the Atacama Large Millimetre Array (ALMA) started science operations in 2011 it presented a tantalising opportunity to identify and characterise these first sources of light in a new window of the electromagnetic spectrum. I will present new sources successfully identified at z=6.8 using ALMA; the first spectroscopic confirmations of typical star-forming galaxies during the Epoch or Reionization using a sub-millimetre telescope. Moreover, these observations reveal the gas kinematics of such distant sources for the first time. The velocity gradient in these galaxies indicate that these galaxies likely have similar dynamical properties as the turbulent, yet rotation-dominated disks that have been observed for Hα emitting galaxies 2 billion years later at cosmic noon. This novel approach for confirming galaxies during Reionization paves the way for larger studies of distant galaxies with spectroscopic redshifts. Particularly important, this opens up opportunities for the measurement of high angular-resolution dynamics in galaxies less than one billion years after the BigBang.

The standard model of primordial nucleosynthesis by the BigBang as selected by the WMAP-based estimate of the baryon density (Ωbh2) predicts an abundance of 7Li that is a factor of three greater than the generally reported abundance for stars on the Spite plateau, and an abundance of 6Li that is about a thousand times less than is found for some stars on the plateau. This review discusses and examines these two discrepancies. They can likely be resolved without major surgery on the standard model of the BigBang. In particular, stars on the Spite plateau may have depleted their surface lithium abundance over their long lifetime from the WMAP-based predicted abundances down to presently observed abundances, and synthesis of 6Li (and 7Li) via α + α fusion reactions may have occurred in the early Galaxy. Yet, there remain fascinating ways in which to remove the two discrepancies involving aspects of a new cosmology, particularly through the introduction of exotic particles

The microcanonical entropy is calculated for a system of massive, conformally coupled, scalar bosons using a conformal gravitational theory. The resulting entropy is seen to indicate a first order phase transition from an inflationary expansion stage (where the amplitude of the scalar boson follows that of the scale function of the universe and the mass of the solar boson is the source of the cosmological constant) to a bigbang stage (where neither of these conditions hold). Such a first order phase transition involves an entropy increase of some thirty orders of magnitude. In the author's theory, the invariant temperature (proper temperature times scale function) is not zero, nor is it the Hawking temperature, but it is tens of magnitudes smaller than the corresponding temperature of the bigbang stage. A specific model for these bosons that provides the phase transition and serves as the source of the cosmological constant is also examined briefly, where the bosons are identified as spontaneously generated primordial black holes as in the cosmological model of Brout, Englert and Casher. In that case, the decay of the black holes provides a decaying cosmological constant and an explicit mechanism for heating up the universe

A fundamental quest of modern astronomy is to locate the earliest galaxies and study how they influenced the intergalactic medium a few hundred million years after the BigBang1-3. The abundance of star-forming galaxies is known to decline4,5 from redshifts of about 6 to 10, but a key question is the extent of star formation at even earlier times, corresponding to the period when the first galaxies might have emerged. Here we report spectroscopic observations of MACS1149-JD16, a gravitationally lensed galaxy observed when the Universe was less than four per cent of its present age. We detect an emission line of doubly ionized oxygen at a redshift of 9.1096 ± 0.0006, with an uncertainty of one standard deviation. This precisely determined redshift indicates that the red rest-frame optical colour arises from a dominant stellar component that formed about 250 million years after the BigBang, corresponding to a redshift of about 15. Our results indicate that it may be possible to detect such early episodes of star formation in similar galaxies with future telescopes.

Low-mass stars, approximately 1 to 2 solar masses, near the Main Sequence are efficient at producing the helium isotope 3He, which they mix into the convective envelope on the giant branch and should distribute into the Galaxy by way of envelope loss. This process is so efficient that it is difficult to reconcile the low observed cosmic abundance of 3He with the predictions of both stellar and BigBang nucleosynthesis. Here we find, by modeling a red giant with a fully three-dimensional hydrodynamic code and a full nucleosynthetic network, that mixing arises in the supposedly stable and radiative zone between the hydrogen-burning shell and the base of the convective envelope. This mixing is due to Rayleigh-Taylor instability within a zone just above the hydrogen-burning shell, where a nuclear reaction lowers the mean molecular weight slightly. Thus, we are able to remove the threat that 3He production in low-mass stars poses to the BigBang nucleosynthesis of 3He.

The fraction of ionized hydrogen left over from the BigBang provides evidence for the time of formation of the first stars and quasar black holes in the early Universe; such objects provide the high-energy photons necessary to ionize hydrogen. Spectra of the two most distant known quasars show nearly complete absorption of photons with wavelengths shorter than the Lyman alpha transition of neutral hydrogen, indicating that hydrogen in the intergalactic medium (IGM) had not been completely ionized at a redshift of z approximately 6.3, about one billion years after the BigBang. Here we show that the IGM surrounding these quasars had a neutral hydrogen fraction of tens of per cent before the quasar activity started, much higher than the previous lower limits of approximately 0.1 per cent. Our results, when combined with the recent inference of a large cumulative optical depth to electron scattering after cosmological recombination therefore suggest the presence of a second peak in the mean ionization history of the Universe.

Colorectal cancer is characterized by exquisite genomic instability either in the form of microsatellite instability or chromosomal instability. Microsatellite instability is the result of mutation of mismatch repair genes or their silencing through promoter methylation as a consequence of the CpG island methylator phenotype. The molecular causes of chromosomal instability are less well characterized. Genomic instability and field cancerization lead to a high degree of intratumoral heterogeneity and determine the formation of cancer stem cells and epithelial-mesenchymal transition mediated by the TGF-β and APC pathways. Recent analyses using integrated genomics reveal different phases of colorectal cancer evolution. An initial phase of genomic instability that yields many clones with different mutations (bigbang) is followed by an important, previously not detected phase of cancer evolution that consists in the stabilization of several clones and a relatively flat outgrowth. The bigbang model can best explain the coexistence of several stable clones and is compatible with the fact that the analysis of the bulk of the primary tumor yields prognostic information.

All measurements are comparisons. The only physically accessible degrees of freedom (DOFs) are dimensionless ratios. The objective description of the universe as a whole thus predicts only how these ratios change collectively as one of them is changed. Here we develop a description for classical Bianchi IX cosmology implementing these relational principles. The objective evolution decouples from the volume and its expansion degree of freedom. We use the relational description to investigate both vacuum dominated and quiescent Bianchi IX cosmologies. In the vacuum dominated case the relational dynamical system predicts an infinite amount of change of the relational DOFs, in accordance with the well known chaotic behaviour of Bianchi IX. In the quiescent case the relational dynamical system evolves uniquely though the point where the decoupled scale DOFs predict the bigbang/crunch. This is a non-trivial prediction of the relational description; the bigbang/crunch is not the end of physics - it is instead a regular point of the relational evolution. Describing our solutions as spacetimes that satisfy Einstein's equations, we find that the relational dynamical system predicts two singular solutions of GR that are connected at the hypersurface of the singularity such that relational DOFs are continuous and the orientation of the spatial frame is inverted.

If there exist massive neutral leptons (heavy neutrinos), they would have been produced in thermal equilibrium in the early stages of the universe. The effects of their presence and decay on the bigbang nucleosynthesis are investigated in detail and abundances of the products 4 He, 2 H and 7 Li are compared with the observed cosmic abundances. We have determined a region in the lifetime-mass diagram of the heavy neutrino which should be ruled out in order for the bigbang nucleosynthesis not to conflict with observed abundances of the elements. In addition, if a lower limit of the lifetime obtained from the Weinberg-Salam type theory, tau>=6 x 10 7 (1 MeV/m sub(νh)) 5 sec, is assumed, where m sub(νh) is the mass of the heavy neutrino, the mass range of 70 eV< m sub(νh)<10 MeV is ruled out. The other constraints on the mass and the lifetime obtained from astrophysical considerations are also discussed and summarized. (author)

If the Standard Model (SM) Higgs is weakly coupled to the inflationary sector, the Higgs is expected to be universally in the form of a condensate towards the end of inflation. The Higgs decays rapidly after inflation -- via non-perturbative effects -- into an out-of-equilibrium distribution of SM species, which thermalize soon afterwards. If the post-inflationary equation of state of the universe is stiff, $w \\simeq +1$, the SM species eventually dominate the total energy budget. This provides a natural origin for the relativistic thermal plasma of SM species, required for the onset the `hot BigBang' era. The viability of this scenario requires the inflationary Hubble scale $H_*$ to be lower than the instability scale for Higgs vacuum decay, the Higgs not to generate too large curvature perturbations at cosmological scales, and the SM dominance to occur before BigBang Nucleosynthesis. We show that successful reheating into the SM can only be obtained in the presence of a non-minimal coupling to gravity $\\x...

This paper starts by building the energy-momentum tensor of a perfect fluid of p-branes coupled to (p+4)-dimensional general relativity. Having three homogeneous and isotropic macroscopical spatial dimensions, the system gravity/fluid can be reduced to an effective theory over the branes. For the string fluid (p=1) the effective theory is nothing but the 2D dilaton gravity where the potential for the scalar field, which is the scale factor of the macroscopical space, is fixed by the state equation and the three-dimensional geometry. This theory can be solved allowing us to compare some relevant aspects in our homogeneous and isotropic string cosmologies with those of the Robertson-Walker ones. In particular, unlike the point-particle models, the existence of an initial singularity is strongly sensitive to the state equation, and it is remarkable that this model picks out the radiation state equation as the canonical case where the big-bang is kinematically forbidden. Moreover, we cannot reduce the Robertson-Walker cosmologies to the limit when the string size approaches to zero, because the existence of an upper bound on the string size is not compatible with the big-bang. Some examples are presented

Detailed analyses of WMAP and Planck data can have significant implications for noncyclic pre-BigBang approaches incorporating a new fundamental scale beyond the Planck scale and, potentially, new ultimate constituents of matter with unconventional basic properties as compared to standard particles. Cosmic-ray experiments at the highest energies can also yield relevant information. Hopefully, future studies will be able to deal with alternatives: i) to standard physics for the structure of the physical vacuum, the nature of space-time, the validity of quantum field theory and conventional symmetries, the interpretation of string-like theories...; ii) to standard cosmology concerning the origin and evolution of our Universe, unconventional solutions to the cosmological constant problem, the validity of inflationary scenarios, the need for dark matter and dark energy... Lorentz-like symmetries for the properties of matter can then be naturally stable space-time configurations resulting from more general primordial scenarios that incorporate physics beyond the Planck scale and describe the formation and evolution of the physical vacuum. A possible answer to the question of the origin of half-integer spins can be provided by a primordial spinorial space-time with two complex coordinates instead of the conventional four real ones, leading to a really new cosmology. We discuss basic questions and phenomenological topics concerning noncyclic pre-BigBang cosmologies and potentially related physics.

This paper starts by building the energy-momentum tensor of a perfect fluid of p-branes coupled to (p+4)-dimensional general relativity. Having three homogeneous and isotropic macroscopical spatial dimensions, the system gravity/fluid can be reduced to an effective theory over the branes. For the string fluid (p=1) the effective theory is nothing but the 2D dilaton gravity where the potential for the scalar field, which is the scale factor of the macroscopical space, is fixed by the state equation and the three-dimensional geometry. This theory can be solved allowing us to compare some relevant aspects in our homogeneous and isotropic string cosmologies with those of the Robertson-Walker ones. In particular, unlike the point-particle models, the existence of an initial singularity is strongly sensitive to the state equation, and it is remarkable that this model picks out the radiation state equation as the canonical case where the big-bang is kinematically forbidden. Moreover, we cannot reduce the Robertson-Walker cosmologies to the limit when the string size approaches to zero, because the existence of an upper bound on the string size is not compatible with the big-bang. Some examples are presented.

We formulate the basic postulate of pre-bigbang cosmology as one of ``asymptotic past triviality'', by which we mean that the initial state is a generic perturbative solution of the tree-level low-energy effective action. Such a past-trivial ``string vacuum'' is made of an arbitrary ensemble of incoming gravitational and dilatonic waves, and is generically prone to gravitational instability, leading to the possible formation of many black holes hiding singular space-like hypersurfaces. Each such singular space-like hypersurface of gravitational collapse becomes, in the string-frame metric, the usual big-bang t=0 hypersurface, i.e. the place of birth of a baby Friedmann universe after a period of dilaton-driven inflation. Specializing to the spherically-symmetric case, we review and reinterpret previous work on the subject, and propose a simple, scale-invariant criterion for collapse/inflation in terms of asymptotic data at past null infinity. Those data should determine whether, when, and where collapse/infl...

"It will be the world's largest machine. It could explain the origins of the universe. But first a team of engineers has the gargantuan logistic challenge of putting the Large Hadron Collider together" (2 pages)

Common wisdom says that cosmologists are smart: they have developed a theory that can explain the ``origin of the universe''. Every time an astro-related, heavily funded ``big-science'' project comes to the media, naturally the question arises: will science -through this or that experiment- explain the origin of the cosmos? Can this be done with the LHC, for example? Will this dream machine create other universes? Of course, the very words we employ in cosmology reinforce this misconception: so BigBang must be associated with an ``explosion'', even if a ``peculiar'' one, as it took place nowhere (there was presumably no space before the beginning) and happened virtually in no time (supposedly, space-time was created on this peculiar -singular- event). Right, the issue sounds confusing. Let us imagine what kids may get out of all this. We have recently presented a series of brief astronomy and cosmology books aimed at helping both kids and their teachers in these and other arcane subjects, all introduced with carefully chosen words and images that young children can understand. In particular, Volume Four deals with the BigBang and emphasizes the notion of ``evolution'' as opposed to the -wrong- notion of ``origin'' behind the scientific model. We then explain some of the pillars of BigBang cosmology: the expansion of space that drags away distant galaxies, as seen in the redshift of their emitted light; the build-up of light elements in a cooling bath of radiation, as explained by primordial nucleosynthesis; and the existence and main features of the ubiquitous cosmic microwave background radiation, where theory and observations agree to a highly satisfactory degree. Of course, one cannot attempt to answer the ``origins'' question when it is well known that all theories so far break down close to this origin (if there was actually an origin). It is through observations, analyses, lively discussions and recognition of the basic limitations of current theories and

I discuss the status of present knowledge about a possible background of relic gravitons left by an early, pre-bigbang cosmological epoch, whose existence in the past of our Universe is suggested by the duality symmetries of string theory.

In its 50th Anniversary year, CERN had the honour of opening and closing this year's Geneva Festival. The Geneva Festival traditionally opens with a bang, but this year's was the biggest yet. On 30 July, on a warm summer's evening by Lake Geneva, several tons of fireworks replayed the early history of the Universe. Starting with the BigBang, the display had acts representing inflation, the breaking of symmetries, the clash of antimatter and matter, hadrons and nucleosynthesis, the first atoms and the Universe becoming transparent, and the formation of stars and planets. It was a challenge to translate these very abstract ideas into more than a thousand kilograms of TNT of different colour. But, set to the music of The Matrix, Alan Parsons, and Jurassic Park, one of the most spectacular physics presentations ever staged dazzled the audience of two hundred thousand spectators. CERN physicist Rolf Landua, who scripted the narrative and worked with the pyrotechnicians on the realization, said: "From the many e...

The hypothesis is rapidly gaining popularity that the dark energy pervading our universe is extra-repulsive (-p>ρ). The density of such a substance (usually called phantom energy) grows with the cosmological expansion and may become infinite in a finite time producing a Big Rip. In this Letter we analyze the late stages of the universe evolution and demonstrate that the presence of the phantom energy in the universe is not enough in itself to produce the Big Rip. This singularity occurrence requires the fulfillment of some additional, rather strong conditions. A more probable outcome of the cosmological evolution is the decay of the phantom field into 'normal' matter. The second, more intriguing consequence of the presence of the phantom field is the possibility to introduce a cosmological scenario that does not contain a BigBang. In the framework of this model the universe eternally expands, while its density and other physical parameters oscillate over a wide range, never reaching the Plank values. Thus, the universe evolution has no singularities at all.

Keeping in mind that we can only see the universe from the comfort of our home galaxy, Bascom begins his text by meticulously laying the necessary groundwork to understand the Big Bang’s mathematics without using any equations. He then paints a freeze-frame picture of our universe as if we had taken a three-dimensional picture with a giant camera. Within this picture, he traces forces beginning with the smallest (a single atom) to the biggest (the cosmos), keeping in mind that in this frozen moment everything further away from the observer spatially is also further away from the observer in time; that is, older. Soon a very real and very vivid image of the BigBang appears (especially in things that are loud or hot), echoing down through time and into our everyday lives, reflected in every atom during every measurement. Then, slowly but deliberately, Bascom unfreezes this picture, ratcheting each moment from one to the next, showing us how and why quantum particles are constantly in contact with the Big Ban...

With the decision of the Federal Constitutional Court (BVerfG, file number 2 BvL 6/13) published on 7 June the Federal Constitutional Court has ''tipped'' the so-called nuclear fuel tax levied by nuclear power plant operators from 2011 to the end of 2016 (tax revenues approx. 6.285 billion Euros). According to the court the Federal legislature does not has any legislative competence for the introduction of this tax. Including interest rates, the current tax debtors E.ON, RWE and EnBW are now refunded a total of just under Euro 7 billion of wrongly levied taxes for the years 2011 to 2016. In substance, the decision on the unconstitutionality and invalidity of the nuclear fuel tax is a threefold bigbang.

Thanks to recent nuclear reaction rate compilations (NACRE[2]) and new experimental and theoretical works in nuclear physics, we have updated Standard BigBang Nucleosynthesis (SBBN) calculations. The results are compared to the most representative light element abundances, measured in pristine astrophysical media to derive the baryonic density of the Universe. We confront Ω b h 2 obtained in this study with other values deduced from recent independent approaches as the observations of the anisotropies of the Cosmic Microwave Background (BOOMERANG, CBI, DASI, MAXIMA and VSA experiments) or the Lyman-α forest at high redshifts. Comparison between these results is a test of their consistency and could provide a better determination of this important cosmological parameter

We use BigBang Nucleosynthesis (BBN) observational data on the primordial abundance of light elements to constrain f(T) gravity. The three most studied viable f(T) models, namely the power law, the exponential and the square-root exponential are considered, and the BBN bounds are adopted in order to extract constraints on their free parameters. For the power-law model, we find that the constraints are in agreement with those obtained using late-time cosmological data. For the exponential and the square-root exponential models, we show that for reliable regions of parameters space they always satisfy the BBN bounds. We conclude that viable f(T) models can successfully satisfy the BBN constraints. (orig.)

of evolution incorporates the previously developed concepts of the emergence of protein folds by recombination of small structural units and origin of viruses and cells from a pre-cellular compartmentalized pool of recombining genetic elements. The model is extended to encompass other major transitions. It is proposed that bacterial and archaeal phyla emerged independently from two distinct populations of primordial cells that, originally, possessed leaky membranes, which made the cells prone to rampant gene exchange; and that the eukaryotic supergroups emerged through distinct, secondary endosymbiotic events (as opposed to the primary, mitochondrial endosymbiosis. This biphasic model of evolution is substantially analogous to the scenario of the origin of universes in the eternal inflation version of modern cosmology. Under this model, universes like ours emerge in the infinite multiverse when the eternal process of exponential expansion, known as inflation, ceases in a particular region as a result of false vacuum decay, a first order phase transition process. The result is the nucleation of a new universe, which is traditionally denoted BigBang, although this scenario is radically different from the BigBang of the traditional model of an expanding universe. Hence I denote the phase transitions at the end of each inflationary epoch in the history of life Biological BigBangs (BBB. Conclusion A Biological BigBang (BBB model is proposed for the major transitions in life's evolution. According to this model, each transition is a BBB such that new classes of biological entities emerge at the end of a rapid phase of evolution (inflation that is characterized by extensive exchange of genetic information which takes distinct forms for different BBBs. The major types of new forms emerge independently, via a sampling process, from the pool of recombining entities of the preceding generation. This process is envisaged as being qualitatively different from tree

concepts of the emergence of protein folds by recombination of small structural units and origin of viruses and cells from a pre-cellular compartmentalized pool of recombining genetic elements. The model is extended to encompass other major transitions. It is proposed that bacterial and archaeal phyla emerged independently from two distinct populations of primordial cells that, originally, possessed leaky membranes, which made the cells prone to rampant gene exchange; and that the eukaryotic supergroups emerged through distinct, secondary endosymbiotic events (as opposed to the primary, mitochondrial endosymbiosis). This biphasic model of evolution is substantially analogous to the scenario of the origin of universes in the eternal inflation version of modern cosmology. Under this model, universes like ours emerge in the infinite multiverse when the eternal process of exponential expansion, known as inflation, ceases in a particular region as a result of false vacuum decay, a first order phase transition process. The result is the nucleation of a new universe, which is traditionally denoted BigBang, although this scenario is radically different from the BigBang of the traditional model of an expanding universe. Hence I denote the phase transitions at the end of each inflationary epoch in the history of life Biological BigBangs (BBB). A Biological BigBang (BBB) model is proposed for the major transitions in life's evolution. According to this model, each transition is a BBB such that new classes of biological entities emerge at the end of a rapid phase of evolution (inflation) that is characterized by extensive exchange of genetic information which takes distinct forms for different BBBs. The major types of new forms emerge independently, via a sampling process, from the pool of recombining entities of the preceding generation. This process is envisaged as being qualitatively different from tree-pattern cladogenesis.

We use BigBang Nucleosynthesis (BBN) observational data on the primordial abundance of light elements to constrain f ( T ) gravity. The three most studied viable f ( T ) models, namely the power law, the exponential and the square-root exponential are considered, and the BBN bounds are adopted in order to extract constraints on their free parameters. For the power-law model, we find that the constraints are in agreement with those obtained using late-time cosmological data. For the exponential and the square-root exponential models, we show that for reliable regions of parameters space they always satisfy the BBN bounds. We conclude that viable f ( T ) models can successfully satisfy the BBN constraints.

In the current cosmological model, only the three lightest elements were created in the first few minutes after the BigBang; all other elements were produced later in stars. To date, however, heavy elements have been observed in all astrophysical environments. We report the detection of two gas clouds with no discernible elements heavier than hydrogen. These systems exhibit the lowest heavy-element abundance in the early universe, and thus are potential fuel for the most metal-poor halo stars. The detection of deuterium in one system at the level predicted by primordial nucleosynthesis provides a direct confirmation of the standard cosmological model. The composition of these clouds further implies that the transport of heavy elements from galaxies to their surroundings is highly inhomogeneous.

The recent discovery of RNA viruses in diverse unicellular eukaryotes and developments in evolutionary genomics have provided the means for addressing the origin of eukaryotic RNA viruses. The phylogenetic analyses of RNA polymerases and helicases presented in this Analysis article reveal close evolutionary relationships between RNA viruses infecting hosts from the Chromalveolate and Excavate supergroups and distinct families of picorna-like viruses of plants and animals. Thus, diversification of picorna-like viruses probably occurred in a 'BigBang' concomitant with key events of eukaryogenesis. The origins of the conserved genes of picorna-like viruses are traced to likely ancestors including bacterial group II retroelements, the family of HtrA proteases and DNA bacteriophages.

We study effects of the sterile neutrino in the five-dimensional universe on the bigbang nucleosynthesis (BBN). Since the five-dimensional universe model leads to an additional term in the Friedmann equation and the energy density of the sterile neutrino increases the total energy density, this model can affect the primordial abundance via changing the cosmic expansion rate. The energy density of the sterile neutrino can be determined by a rate equation for production of the sterile neutrino. We show that not only the mixing angle and the mass of the sterile neutrino, but also a resonant effect in the oscillation between sterile and active neutrinos is important to determine a relic abundance of the sterile neutrino. In this study, we also investigate how the sterile neutrino in extra-dimensional model can affect the BBN, and constrain the parameters related to the above properties of the sterile neutrino by using the observational primordial abundances of light elements.

I will describe the history of the universe, from the BigBang to 2013, when the JWST is to be launched to look back towards our beginnings. I will discuss how the COBE results led to the Nobel Prize, how the COBE results have been confirmed and extended, and their implications for future observations. The James Webb Space Telescope will be used to examine every part of our history from the first stars and galaxies to the formation of individual stars and planets and the delivery of life-supporting materials to the Earth. I will describe the plans for the JWST and how observers may use it. With luck, the JWST may produce a Nobel Prize for some discovery we can only guess today.

The history of the Nobel Prize, since its establishment, interlaces with the history of the public image of science. The aim of this article is to illustrate cinematic scientists, portrayed precisely in their moment of maximum glory. The films and television shows upon which the study is based compose a corpus of 189 media texts. The article identifies three main areas that concern the relation between the Nobel Prize and its audiovisual representations: biopics of real Nobel laureates, the presence of real or fictional Nobel laureates in the film or the show plot, and films and TV series that depict the Nobel ceremony. The article then focuses on four texts that deserve a detailed examination: La fin du monde, The Prize, The Simpsons and The BigBang Theory. The conclusion compares the representation of the Nobel scientist with general changes in the image of the scientist conveyed by cinema and television.

Full Text Available This study aims to describe the type of wordplay in the subtitle of the movie entitled ‘The BigBang Theory’ and also to describe the technique applied in translating the wordplay. This study is a descriptive qualitative and library study. The data was collected through observation and note taking techniques. The framework of this study is Delabatista (1993 concerning with types of wordplay translation and Humanika (2012 about the techniques to translate the wordplay. This study found that there are three types of wordplay; they are the phonological structure (homonymy and homophony, the lexical development (idiom and the syntactic structure. The techniques of translating wordplay found consist of literal translation, loan translation, situational translation and no translation.

We study the effects of long-lived massive particles, which decayed during the big-bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) epoch, on the primordial abundance of light elements. Compared to previous studies, (i) the reaction rates of standard BBN reactions are updated, (ii) the most recent observational data on the light element abundance and cosmological parameters are used, (iii) the effects of the interconversion of energetic nucleons at the time of inelastic scattering with background nuclei are considered, and (iv) the effects of the hadronic shower induced by energetic high-energy antinucleons are included. We compare the theoretical predictions on the primordial abundance of light elements with the latest observational constraints, and we derive upper bounds on the relic abundance of the decaying particle as a function of its lifetime. We also apply our analysis to an unstable gravitino, the superpartner of a graviton in supersymmetric theories, and obtain constraints on the reheating temperature after inflation.

In conventional general relativity, the expansion rate H of a Robertson-Walker universe is related to the energy density by the Friedmann equation. Aside from the present day, the only epoch at which we can constrain the expansion history in a model-independent way is during big-bang nucleosynthesis (BBN). We consider a simple two-parameter characterization of the behavior of H during BBN and derive constraints on this parameter space, finding that the allowed region of parameter space is essentially one dimensional. We also study the effects of a large neutrino asymmetry within this framework. Our results provide a simple way to compare an alternative cosmology to the observational requirement of matching the primordial abundances of the light elements

Full Text Available CBS’s The BigBang Theory (TBBT frequently exhibits elements of video games and gaming culture. The author uses subculture theory to consider the representation of video games, gamers, and their avatars within popular culture. This paper investigates the representation of avatars within the characterization of gaming subculture on the TBBT. The author performed a content analysis of the program’s six seasons, examining the relationship between the show’s video game playing characters and their avatars. This investigation found that almost half of the scenes that contained video gaming activities contained some aspect of avatars. TBBT reifies gaming as a subculture through the relationship between the characters and their avatars. Examining the representation of these relationships is essential to understanding the representation of the gaming subculture in the mass media and within culture at large.

The existence of small mixings between light active and sterile neutrino species could have implications for BigBang and Supernova Heavy Element Nucleosynthesis. As well, such mixing would force us to abandon cherished constraints on light neutrino Dark Matter. Two proposed 4-neutrino mass and mixing schemes, for example, can both accomodate existing experimental results and lead to elegant solutions to the neutron-deficit problem for r-Process nucleosynthesis from neutrino-heated supernova ejecta. Each of these solutions is based on matter-enhanced (MSW) active-sterile neutrino transformation. In plausible extensions of these schemes to the early universe, Shi and Fuller have shown that relatively light mass (∼200 eV to ∼10 keV) sterile neutrinos produced via active-sterile MSW conversion can have a ''cold'' energy spectrum. Neutrinos produced in this way circumvent the principal problem of light neutrino dark matter and would be, essentially, Cold Dark Matter

We use BigBang Nucleosynthesis (BBN) observational data on the primordial abundance of light elements to constrain f(T) gravity. The three most studied viable f(T) models, namely the power law, the exponential and the square-root exponential are considered, and the BBN bounds are adopted in order to extract constraints on their free parameters. For the power-law model, we find that the constraints are in agreement with those obtained using late-time cosmological data. For the exponential and the square-root exponential models, we show that for reliable regions of parameters space they always satisfy the BBN bounds. We conclude that viable f(T) models can successfully satisfy the BBN constraints. (orig.)

We use BigBang Nucleosynthesis (BBN) observational data on the primordial abundance of light elements to constrain f( T) gravity. The three most studied viable f( T) models, namely the power law, the exponential and the square-root exponential are considered, and the BBN bounds are adopted in order to extract constraints on their free parameters. For the power-law model, we find that the constraints are in agreement with those obtained using late-time cosmological data. For the exponential and the square-root exponential models, we show that for reliable regions of parameters space they always satisfy the BBN bounds. We conclude that viable f( T) models can successfully satisfy the BBN constraints.

Berkeley Lab's George Smoot won the 2006 Physics Nobel Prize, together with John Mather of NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, for "the discovery of the blackbody form and anisotropy of the cosmic microwave background radiation." The anisotropy showed as small variations in the map of the early universe. This research looks back into the infant universe and provides a better understanding of the origin of galaxies and stars. The cosmic background radiation is a tool to understand the structure and history of the universe and the structure of space-time. These observations have provided increased support for the bigbang theory of the universe's origin. The Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) NASA satellite, launched in 1989, carries instruments that measured various aspects of cosmic microwave background radiation, and produced the data for these compelling scientific results, which opened up a field that continues very actively today.

This book presents what has been the biggest scientific equipment ever designed on earth: the LHC (large hadron collider) and its associated experiments (ATLAS, CMS, LHCb and ALICE) that led to the discovery of the Higgs boson in 2012. About 10.000 physicists and engineers from 50 countries have taken part into the project that began in 1989. This book is composed of the following chapters: 1) the standard model (SM) of particle physics, 2) the experimental success of SM, 3) the shortfalls of SM, 4) the new physics, 5) the original bigbang, 6) the LHC, 7) particle detection, 8) ATLAS and CMS experiments, 9) the first data from LHC, 10) data analysis, 11) the quest for the Higgs boson, 12) the search for new physics, 13) LHCb and ALICE experiments, and 14) future prospects

The production of C, N, O elements in a standard bigbang nucleosynthesis scenario is investigated. Using the up-to-date data of nuclear reactions in BBN, in particular the 8 Li (n,γ) 9 Li which has been measured in China Institute of Atomic Energy, a full nucleosynthesis network calculation of BBN is carried out. Our calculation results show that the abundance of 12 C is increased for an order of magnitude after addition of the reaction chain 8 Li(n,γ) 9 Li(α,n) 12 B(β) 12 C, which was neglected in previous studies. We find that this sequence provides the main channel to convert the light elements into C, N, O in standard BBN. (nuclear physics)

Unitarity, the mathematical expression of the conservation of probability in multichannel reactions, is an essential ingredient in the development of accurate nuclear reaction networks appropriate for nucleosynthesis in a variety of environments. We describe our ongoing program to develop a 'unitary reaction network' for the big-bang nucleosynthesis environment and look at an example of the need and power of unitary parametrizations of nuclear scattering and reaction data. Recent attention has been focused on the possible role of the {sup 9}B compound nuclear system in the resonant destruction of {sup 7}Li during primordial nucleosynthesis. We have studied reactions in the {sup 9}B compound system with a multichannel, two-body unitary R-matrix code (EDA) using the known elastic and reaction data, in a four-channel treatment. The data include elastic {sup 6}Li({sup 3}He,{sup 3}He){sup 6}Li differential cross sections from 0.7 to 2.0 MeV, integrated reaction cross sections for energies from 0.7 to 5.0 MeV for {sup 6}Li({sup 3}He,p){sup 8}Be* and from 0.4 to 5.0 MeV for the {sup 6}Li({sup 3}He,γ){sup 7}Be reaction. Capture data have been added to the previous analysis with integrated cross section measurements from 0.7 to 0.825 MeV for {sup 6}Li({sup 3}He,γ){sup 9}B. The resulting resonance parameters are compared with tabulated values from TUNL Nuclear Data Group analyses. Previously unidentified resonances are noted and the relevance of this analysis and a unitary reaction network for big-bang nucleosynthesis are emphasized. (author)

Unitarity, the mathematical expression of the conservation of probability in multichannel reactions, is an essential ingredient in the development of accurate nuclear reaction networks appropriate for nucleosynthesis in a variety of environments. We describe our ongoing program to develop a 'unitary reaction network' for the big-bang nucleosynthesis environment and look at an example of the need and power of unitary parametrizations of nuclear scattering and reaction data. Recent attention has been focused on the possible role of the 9 B compound nuclear system in the resonant destruction of 7 Li during primordial nucleosynthesis. We have studied reactions in the 9 B compound system with a multichannel, two-body unitary R-matrix code (EDA) using the known elastic and reaction data, in a four-channel treatment. The data include elastic 6 Li( 3 He, 3 He) 6 Li differential cross sections from 0.7 to 2.0 MeV, integrated reaction cross sections for energies from 0.7 to 5.0 MeV for 6 Li( 3 He,p) 8 Be* and from 0.4 to 5.0 MeV for the 6 Li( 3 He,γ) 7 Be reaction. Capture data have been added to the previous analysis with integrated cross section measurements from 0.7 to 0.825 MeV for 6 Li( 3 He,γ) 9 B. The resulting resonance parameters are compared with tabulated values from TUNL Nuclear Data Group analyses. Previously unidentified resonances are noted and the relevance of this analysis and a unitary reaction network for big-bang nucleosynthesis are emphasized. (author)

NASA’s Cosmic Background Explorer satellite mission, the COBE, laid the foundations for modern cosmology by measuring the spectrum and anisotropy of the cosmic microwave background radiation and discovering the cosmic infrared background radiation. I describe the history of the COBE project, its scientific context, the people who built it, and the scientific results. The COBE observed the universe on the largest scales possible by mapping the cosmic microwave and infrared background radiation fields and determining their spectra. It produced conclusive evidence that the hot BigBang theory of the early universe is correct, showed that the early universe was very uniform but not perfectly so, and that the total luminosity of post BigBang objects is twice as great as previously believed. The COBE concept was developed by a Mission Definition Study Team appointed by NASA in 1976, based on three competing proposals submitted in 1974. The COBE was built in-house by Goddard Space Flight Center, with a helium cryostat provided by Ball Aerospace, and was launched on a Delta rocket built by McDonnell Douglas. It is in a circular orbit 900km above the Earth, in a plane inclined 99° to the equator and roughly perpendicular to the line to the Sun. It carried three instruments, a far infrared absolute spectrophotometer (FIRAS), a differential microwave radiometer with three channels (DMR), and a diffuse infrared background experiment (DIRBE). The helium cryostat cooled the FIRAS and DIRBE for 10months until the helium was exhausted, but operations continued for a total of 4years . Subsequent observations have confirmed the COBE results and led to measurements of the main cosmological parameters with a precision of a few percent.

The scenario that the Universe contracts towards a big crunch and then undergoes a transition to an expanding universe is envisaged in the quantum string cosmology approach. The Wheeler-DeWitt (WDW) equation is solved exactly for an exponential dilaton potential. An S-duality invariant cosmological effective action for type IIB theory is considered to derive classical solutions and solve WDW equations

Once again the National Health Service (NHS) in England is undergoing major reform, following the election of a new coalition government keen to reduce the role of the state and cut back on big government. The NHS has been undergoing continuous reform since the 1980s. Yet, despite the significant transaction costs incurred, there is no evidence that the claimed benefits have been achieved. Many of the same problems endure. The reforms follow the direction of change laid down by the last Conservative government in the early 1990s, which the recent Labour government did not overturn despite a commitment to do so. Indeed, under Labour, the NHS was subjected to further market-style changes that have paved the way for the latest round of reform. The article considers the appeal of bigbang reform, questions its purpose and value, and critically appraises the nature and extent of the proposed changes in this latest round of reform. It warns that the NHS in its current form may not survive the changes, as they open the way to privatization and a weakening of its public service ethos.

We present the version 2 of AlterBBN, an open public code for the calculation of the abundance of the elements from Big-Bang nucleosynthesis. It does not rely on any closed external library or program, aims at being user-friendly and allowing easy modifications, and provides a fast and reliable calculation of the Big-Bang nucleosynthesis constraints in the standard and alternative cosmologies.

A scenario of the big-bang nucleosynthesis is analyzed within the minimal supersymmetric standard model, which is consistent with a stau-neutralino coannihilation scenario to explain the relic abundance of dark matter. We find that we can account for the possible discrepancy of the abundance of 7 Li between the observation and the prediction of the big-bang nucleosynthesis by taking the mass of the neutralino as 300 GeV and the mass difference between the stau and the neutralino as (100-120) MeV. We can therefore simultaneously explain the abundance of the dark matter and that of 7 Li by these values of parameters. The lifetime of staus in this scenario is predicted to be O(100-1000) sec.

Full Text Available The field of Cosmology is currently undergoing a positive and constructive crisis. Controversies concerning inflation are not really new. But after the 2013-2014 Planck and BICEP2 announcements, and the more recent joint analysis by Planck, BICEP2 and the Keck Array (PBKA, the basic issues can involve more direct links between the Mathematical Physics aspects of cosmological patterns and the interpretation of experimental results. Open questions and new ideas on the foundations of Cosmology can emerge, while future experimental and observational programs look very promising. The BICEP2 result reporting an excess of B-mode polarization signal of the cosmic microwave background (CMB radiation was initially presented as a signature of primordial gravitational waves from cosmic inflation. But polarized dust emission can be at the origin of such a signal, and the evidence claimed by BICEP2 is no longer secure after the PBKA analysis. Furthermore, even assuming that significant CMB B-mode polarization has indeed been generated by the early Universe, its theoretical and cosmological interpretation would be far from obvious. Inflationary gravitational waves are not the only possible source of primordial CMB B-modes. Alternative cosmologies such as pre-BigBang patterns and the spinorial space-time (SST we introduced in 1996-97 can naturally produce this polarization. Furthermore, the SST automatically generates for each comoving observer a local privileged space direction (PSD whose existence may have been confirmed by Planck data. If such a PSD exists, vector perturbations have most likely been strong in the early Universe and may have produced CMB B-modes. Pre-BigBang cosmologies can also generate gravitational waves in the early Universe without inflation. After briefly describing detectors devoted to the study of the CMB polarization, we discuss the situation emerging from BICEP2 results, Planck results and the PBKA analysis. In particular, we

Full Text Available We introduce a new computational capability that moves toward a self-consistent calculation of neutrino transport and nuclear reactions for bigbang nucleosynthesis (BBN. Such a self-consistent approach is needed to be able to extract detailed information about nuclear reactions and physics beyond the standard model from precision cosmological observations of primordial nuclides and the cosmic microwave background radiation. We calculate the evolution of the early universe through the epochs of weak decoupling, weak freeze-out and bigbang nucleosynthesis (BBN by simultaneously coupling a full strong, electromagnetic, and weak nuclear reaction network with a multi-energy group Boltzmann neutrino energy transport scheme. The modular structure of our approach allows the dissection of the relative contributions of each process responsible for evolving the dynamics of the early universe. Such an approach allows a detailed account of the evolution of the active neutrino energy distribution functions alongside and self-consistently with the nuclear reactions and entropy/heat generation and 'ow between the neutrino and photon/electron/positron/baryon plasma components. Our calculations reveal nonlinear feedback in the time evolution of neutrino distribution functions and plasma thermodynamic conditions. We discuss the time development of neutrino spectral distortions and concomitant entropy production and extraction from the plasma. These e↑ects result in changes in the computed values of the BBN deuterium and helium-4 yields that are on the order of a half-percent relative to a baseline standard BBN calculation with no neutrino transport. This is an order of magnitude larger e↑ect than in previous estimates. For particular implementations of quantum corrections in plasma thermodynamics, our calculations show a 0.4% increase in deuterium and a 0.6% decrease in 4He over our baseline. The magnitude of these changes are on the order of uncertainties

language and modern Homo sapiens (the 'bigbang'). The expression of genes within the homologous region is influenced by the extent to which the X and Y chromosomes pair in male meiosis (referred to as MSUC "meiotic suppression of unpaired chromosomes"). This mechanism generates epigenetic diversity relating to the species capacity for language; it is proposed as the basis of the genetic predisposition to psychosis. Language and psychosis have a common origin in the genetic event (the 'bigbang') that defined the species.

Recent data on the cosmological variation of the electromagnetic fine structure constant from distant quasar (QSO) absorption spectra have inspired a more general discussion of the possible variation of other constants. We discuss the variation of strong scale and quark masses. We derive limits on their relative change from (i) primordial bigbang nucleosynthesis, (ii) the Oklo natural nuclear reactor, (iii) quasar absorption spectra, and (iv) laboratory measurements of hyperfine intervals

HD 140283 is an extremely metal-deficient and high-velocity subgiant in the solar neighborhood, having a location in the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram where absolute magnitude is most sensitive to stellar age. Because it is bright, nearby, unreddened, and has a well-determined chemical composition, this star avoids most of the issues involved in age determinations for globular clusters. Using the Fine Guidance Sensors on the Hubble Space Telescope, we have measured a trigonometric parallax of 17.15 {+-} 0.14 mas for HD 140283, with an error one-fifth of that determined by the Hipparcos mission. Employing modern theoretical isochrones, which include effects of helium diffusion, revised nuclear reaction rates, and enhanced oxygen abundance, we use the precise distance to infer an age of 14.46 {+-} 0.31 Gyr. The quoted error includes only the uncertainty in the parallax, and is for adopted surface oxygen and iron abundances of [O/H] = -1.67 and [Fe/H] = -2.40. Uncertainties in the stellar parameters and chemical composition, especially the oxygen content, now contribute more to the error budget for the age of HD 140283 than does its distance, increasing the total uncertainty to about {+-}0.8 Gyr. Within the errors, the age of HD 140283 does not conflict with the age of the Universe, 13.77 {+-} 0.06 Gyr, based on the microwave background and Hubble constant, but it must have formed soon after the bigbang.

If the hot, X-ray-emitting gas in rich clusters forms a fair sample of the universe as in cold dark matter (CDM) models and the universe is at the critical density Ω T =1, then the data appear to imply a baryon fraction Ω b,X (Ω b,X ≡Ω b derived from X-ray cluster data), larger than that predicted by bigbang nucleosynthesis (BBN). While other systematic effects such as clumping can lower Ω b,X , in this paper we use an elementary analysis to show that a simple admixture of hot dark matter (HDM; low-mass neutrinos) with CDM to yield mixed dark matter shifts Ω b,X down so that significant overlap with Ω b from BBN can occur for H 0 approx-lt 73kms -1 Mpc -1 , even without invoking the possible aforementioned effects. The overlap interval is slightly larger for lower mass neutrinos since fewer of them cluster on the scale of the hot X-ray gas. We illustrate this result quantitatively in terms of a simple isothermal model. More realistic velocity dispersion profiles, with less centrally peaked density profiles, imply that fewer neutrinos are trapped and thus further increase the interval of overlap. copyright 1997 The American Astronomical Society

The total cross section for radiative neutron capture on a proton, np→dγ, is evaluated at big-bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) energies. The electromagnetic transition amplitudes are calculated up to next-to-leading-order within the framework of pionless effective field theory with dibaryon fields. We also calculate the dγ→np cross section and the photon analyzing power for the dγ(vector sign)→np process from the amplitudes. The values of low-energy constants that appear in the amplitudes are estimated by a Markov Chain Monte Carlo analysis using the relevant low-energy experimental data. Our result agrees well with those of other theoretical calculations except for the np→dγ cross section at some energies estimated by an R-matrix analysis. We also study the uncertainties in our estimation of the np→dγ cross section at relevant BBN energies and find that the estimated cross section is reliable to within ∼1% error

We study the scenario of gravitino dark matter with a general neutralino being the next-to-lightest supersymmetric particle (NLSP). Therefore, we compute analytically all 2- and 3-body decays of the neutralino NLSP to determine the lifetime and the electromagnetic and hadronic branching ratio of the neutralino decaying into the gravitino and Standard Model particles. We constrain the gravitino and neutralino NLSP mass via bigbang nucleosynthesis and see how those bounds are relaxed for a Higgsino or a wino NLSP in comparison to the bino neutralino case. At neutralino masses >or similar 1 TeV, a wino NLSP is favoured, since it decays rapidly via a newly found 4-vertex. The Higgsino component becomes important, when resonant annihilation via heavy Higgses can occur. We provide the full analytic results for the decay widths and the complete set of Feynman rules necessary for these computations. This thesis closes any gap in the study of gravitino dark matter scenarios with neutralino NLSP coming from approximations in the calculation of the neutralino decay rates and its hadronic branching ratio. (orig.)

This contribution gives a concise survey of Georges Lemaître works and life, shedding some light on less-known aspects. Lemaître is a Belgian catholic priest who gave for the first time in 1927 the explanation of the Hubble law and who proposed in 1931 the "Primeval Atom Hypothesis", considered as the first step towards the BigBang cosmology. But the scientific work of Lemaître goes far beyond Physical Cosmology. Indeed, he contributed also to the theory of Cosmis Rays, to the Spinor theory, to Analytical mechanics (regularization of 3- Bodies problem), to Numerical Analysis (Fast Fourier Transform), to Computer Science (he introduced and programmed the first computer of Louvain),… Lemaître took part to the "Science and Faith" debate. He defended a position that has some analogy with the NOMA principle, making a sharp distinction between what he called the "two paths to Truth" (a scientific one and a theological one). In particular, he never made a confusion between the theological concept of "creation" and the scientific notion of "natural beginning" (initial singularity). Lemaître was deeply rooted in his faith and sacerdotal vocation. Remaining a secular priest, he belonged to a community of priests called "The Friends of Jesus", characterized by a deep spirituality and special vows (for example the vow of poverty). He had also an apostolic activity amongst Chinese students.

The third in a series of conferences organised by CERN and Wilton Park, this event will once again bring together scientists, theologians and philosophers to discuss the themes of the nature and understanding of a common language, truth and logic. Wednesday, 11 November at 4 p.m. in the Main Auditorium For more information and to register, click here. In 2012, CERN and Wilton Park hosted the pioneering international conference “The BigBang and the interfaces of knowledge: towards a common language?”. The event was very successful and a follow-up conference was organised in June 2014 with the purpose of widening the spectrum of scientists, theologians and philosophers involved, continuing the dialogue on one of the key themes that emerged during the first meeting: the nature and the understanding of “truth”. A key theme emerging from the 2014 event was the nature and understanding of logic, and this third meeting will focu...

We study the scenario of gravitino dark matter with a general neutralino being the next-to-lightest supersymmetric particle (NLSP). Therefore, we compute analytically all 2- and 3-body decays of the neutralino NLSP to determine the lifetime and the electromagnetic and hadronic branching ratio of the neutralino decaying into the gravitino and Standard Model particles. We constrain the gravitino and neutralino NLSP mass via bigbang nucleosynthesis and see how those bounds are relaxed for a Higgsino or a wino NLSP in comparison to the bino neutralino case. At neutralino masses >or similar 1 TeV, a wino NLSP is favoured, since it decays rapidly via a newly found 4-vertex. The Higgsino component becomes important, when resonant annihilation via heavy Higgses can occur. We provide the full analytic results for the decay widths and the complete set of Feynman rules necessary for these computations. This thesis closes any gap in the study of gravitino dark matter scenarios with neutralino NLSP coming from approximations in the calculation of the neutralino decay rates and its hadronic branching ratio. (orig.)

This paper shows how increased entropy values from an initially low bigbang level can be measured experimentally by counting relic gravitons. Furthermore the physical mechanism of this entropy increase is explained via analogies with early-universe phase transitions. The role of Jack Ng's (2007, 2008a, 2008b) revised infinite quantum statistics in the physics of gravitational wave detection is acknowledged. Ng's infinite quantum statistics can be used to show that ΔS~ΔNgravitons is a startmg point to the increasing net universe cosmological entropy. Finally, in a nod to similarities AS ZPE analysis, it is important to note that the resulting ΔS~ΔNgravitons ≠ 1088, that in fact it is much lower, allowing for evaluating initial graviton production as an emergent field phenomena, which may be similar to how ZPE states can be used to extract energy from a vacuum if entropy is not maximized. The rapid increase in entropy so alluded to without near sudden increases to 1088 may be enough to allow successful modeling of relic graviton production for entropy in a manner similar to ZPE energy extraction from a vacuum state.

Re-ionization of the intergalactic medium occurred in the early Universe at redshift z ≈ 6-11, following the formation of the first generation of stars. Those young galaxies (where the bulk of stars formed) at a cosmic age of less than about 500 million years (z ≲ 10) remain largely unexplored because they are at or beyond the sensitivity limits of existing large telescopes. Understanding the properties of these galaxies is critical to identifying the source of the radiation that re-ionized the intergalactic medium. Gravitational lensing by galaxy clusters allows the detection of high-redshift galaxies fainter than what otherwise could be found in the deepest images of the sky. Here we report multiband observations of the cluster MACS J1149+2223 that have revealed (with high probability) a gravitationally magnified galaxy from the early Universe, at a redshift of z = 9.6 ± 0.2 (that is, a cosmic age of 490 ± 15 million years, or 3.6 per cent of the age of the Universe). We estimate that it formed less than 200 million years after the BigBang (at the 95 per cent confidence level), implying a formation redshift of ≲14. Given the small sky area that our observations cover, faint galaxies seem to be abundant at such a young cosmic age, suggesting that they may be the dominant source for the early re-ionization of the intergalactic medium.

By assuming the existence of extra-dimensional sterile neutrinos in the bigbang nucleosynthesis (BBN) epoch, we investigate the sterile neutrino (νs) effects on the BBN and constrain some parameters associated with the νs properties. First, for the cosmic expansion rate, we take into account effects of a five-dimensional bulk and intrinsic tension of the brane embedded in the bulk and constrain a key parameter of the extra dimension by using the observational element abundances. Second, effects of the νs traveling on or off the brane are considered. In this model, the effective mixing angle between a νs and an active neutrino depends on energy, which may give rise to a resonance effect on the mixing angle. Consequently, the reaction rate of the νs can be drastically changed during the cosmic evolution. We estimated abundances and temperature of the νs by solving the rate equation as a function of temperature until the sterile neutrino decoupling. We then find that the relic abundance of the νs is drastically enhanced by the extra dimension and maximized for a characteristic resonance energy Eres≳0.01 GeV . Finally, some constraints related to the νs, i.e., mixing angle and mass difference, are discussed in detail with the comparison of our BBN calculations corrected by the extra-dimensional νs to observational data on light element abundances.

Demographic expansion and (or) migrations leave their mark in the pattern of DNA polymorphisms of the respective populations. Likewise, the spread of cultural phenomena can be traced by dating archaeological finds and reconstructing their direction and pace. A similar course of events is likely to have taken place following the "BigBang" of the agricultural spread in the Neolithic Near East from its core area in southeastern Turkey. Thus far, no attempts have been made to track the movement of the founder genetic stocks of the first crop plants from their core area based on the genetic structure of living plants. In this minireview, we re-interpret recent wheat DNA polymorphism data to detect the genetic ripples left by the early wave of advance of Neolithic wheat farming from its core area. This methodology may help to suggest a model charting the spread of the first farming phase prior to the emergence of truly domesticated wheat types (and other such crops), thereby increasing our resolution power in studying this revolutionary period of human cultural, demographic, and social evolution.

The author often toys with a Positively Curved surface resembling a globe as an alternative to the simple BigBang model on a flat surface. When one looks at the Horizon of the earth, say at the ocean, masts in the distance tip away from the observer. If three dimensions of space where curved with a perpendicular mast at each vertex, those time masts would tip away from the observer and be cut-off. A new optical effect would be observed, in which vertices in the distance, say pair annihilation, would result in gamma rays appearing to be redshifted, since by parallel displacement, their time axis would progressively tilt away from the observer and give them a red shift until they reached a distance were they where non- magnifiable. Just as the Earth's Horizon is a non-magnifiable line (since the objects are tilted over and cut-off), so should be the Universe's Horizon be tilted and cut-off (but like a Black-Hole, the Horizon will be an area). The tilt and cut-off can be used to calculate the size and mass of the Universe,given that the cutoff is taken to be 2.725K, the CMBR. This model turns out to be a model of constants and gives absolute meaning to spin. Since this is a brand new theory developed solely by the author at his coffee breaks, looking out the window, he presents it as an exercise.

Full Text Available BigBang Nucleosinthesis (BBN theory provides definite predictions for the abundance of light elements produced in the early universe, as far as the knowledge of the relevant nuclear processes of the BBN chain is accurate. At BBN energies (30 ≲ Ecm ≲ 300 MeV the cross section of many BBN processes is very low because of the Coulomb repulsion between the interacting nuclei. For this reason it is convenient to perform the measurements deep underground. Presently the world’s only facility operating underground is LUNA (Laboratory for Undergound Nuclear astrophysics at LNGS (“Laboratorio Nazionale del Gran Sasso”, Italy. In this presentation the BBN measurements of LUNA are briefly reviewed and discussed. It will be shown that the ongoing study of the D(p, γ3He reaction is of primary importance to derive the baryon density of universe Ωb with high accuracy. Moreover, this study allows to constrain the existence of the so called “dark radiation”, composed by undiscovered relativistic species permeating the universe, such as sterile neutrinos.

BigBang Nucleosinthesis (BBN) theory provides definite predictions for the abundance of light elements produced in the early universe, as far as the knowledge of the relevant nuclear processes of the BBN chain is accurate. At BBN energies (30 ≲ Ecm ≲ 300 MeV) the cross section of many BBN processes is very low because of the Coulomb repulsion between the interacting nuclei. For this reason it is convenient to perform the measurements deep underground. Presently the world's only facility operating underground is LUNA (Laboratory for Undergound Nuclear astrophysics) at LNGS ("Laboratorio Nazionale del Gran Sasso", Italy). In this presentation the BBN measurements of LUNA are briefly reviewed and discussed. It will be shown that the ongoing study of the D(p, γ)3He reaction is of primary importance to derive the baryon density of universe Ωb with high accuracy. Moreover, this study allows to constrain the existence of the so called "dark radiation", composed by undiscovered relativistic species permeating the universe, such as sterile neutrinos.

Now that we know the baryon to photon ratio to 5% from the cosmic microwave background, BigBang Nucleosynthesis using standard physics predicts the abundances of five light nuclei with no free parameters. The Deuterium to Hydrogen ratio measured towards quasars agrees with the prediction to within 10%, but there has been tension verging on disagreement between the estimates of the primordial abundances of 4 He and especially 7 Li since 1996. While some recent 4 He measurements agree, the large majority of measurements over the last 30 years have been smaller than the predictions. For 7 Li, the measurements are sufficiently accurate to show that the 7 Li/H in old stars in the halo of our Galaxy is a factor of 3-4 below the predicted ratio. Perhaps stars with a variety of masses have destroyed the same amount of 7 Li, or we already have evidence for new physics. Improved measurements of the primordial abundances could lead to a detection of a wide variety of new physics because BBN is sensitive to all four forces. Examples include new particles that were relativistic during BBN, decaying particles that change the abundances after BBN or a large net lepton number for the universe that changed the neutron to proton ratio and hence the abundances.

The BigBang nucleosynthesis (BBN) process in the presence of charged massive particles (CHAMPs) is studied in detail. All currently known effects due to the existence of bound states between CHAMPs and nuclei, including possible late-time destruction of {sup 6}Li and {sup 7}Li, are included. The study sets conservative bounds on CHAMP abundances in the decay time range 3×10{sup 2} s∼

Recently, it has been shown that the "BigBang Model" (BBM) actually corresponds to zero pressure and zero temperature (Mitra, Astr. Sp. Sc., 333, 351, 2011). Thus BBM cannot explain the observed universe having radiation and pressure. Consequently, the very idea of a "Dark Energy" resulting from the attempt of explaining the observed universe by BBM gets invalidated. Also, the fact that the BBM badly violates the principle of energy conservation independently suggests that it is physically unacceptable (Mitra, Gen. Rel. Grav. 42, 443 2010). To confirm this, we consider the transformation of vacuum de-Sitter metric from comoving coordinates to original Schwarzschild coordinates. Since the proper space-time volume must remain invariant for all such coordinate transformations, it is found cosmological constant Λ = 0; implying no dark energy. It is pointed out that, recent observations have (actually) shown that observed universe has a fractal structure upto largest observed scale with D˜2.2. Thus the universe is likely to be infinite hierarchial fractal rather than any smooth distribution of matter presumed by BBM. It is pointed out that the observed microwave background radiation may be explained as superposition of gravitationally red-shifted quiescent thermal radiation from the photosphere of the so-called black hole candidates.

Plasma redshift is derived theoretically from conventional axioms of physics by using more accurate methods than those conventionally used. The main difference is the proper inclusion of the dielectric constant. The force acting on the electron is proportional to E=D/ɛ and not D as is conventionally surmised. This correction is not important in ordinary laboratory plasmas; but in the hot sparse plasmas of the intergalactic space, it explains the gradual energy loss (the cosmological redshift) of photons. This energy loss of photons is transferred to the plasma and makes it very hot. The plasma redshift explains long range of phenomena, including the intrinsic redshift of Sun, stars, galaxies and quasars, and the cosmological redshift. It explains also the beautiful black body spectrum of the CMB, and it predicts the observed XRB, and much more. There is no need for BigBang, Inflation, Dark Energy, Dark Matter, Black Holes and much more. The universe is quasi-static and can renew itself forever. There is no cosmic time dilation. In intergalactic space the average temperature is 2.7.10^6 K, and the average electron density (Ne)avg= 2 .10-4 cm-3.

Introducing astrochemistry to a wide audience, this book describes how molecules formed in chemical reactions occur in a range of environments in interstellar and circumstellar space, from shortly after the BigBang up to the present epoch. Stressing that chemistry in these environments needs to be "driven", it helps identify these drivers and the various chemical networks that operate giving rise to signature molecules that enable the physics of the region to be better understood. The book emphasises, in a non-mathematical way, the chemistry of the Milky Way Galaxy and its planet-forming regions, describes how other galaxies may have rather different chemistries and shows how chemistry was important even in the Early Universe when most of the elements had yet to be formed. This book will appeal to anyone with a general interest in chemistry, from students to professional scientists working in interdisciplinary areas and non-scientists fascinated by the evolving and exciting story of chemistry in the cosmos.

The BigBang nucleosynthesis (BBN) process in the presence of charged massive particles (CHAMPs) is studied in detail. All currently known effects due to the existence of bound states between CHAMPs and nuclei, including possible late-time destruction of 6Li and 7Li, are included. The study sets conservative bounds on CHAMP abundances in the decay time range 3\\times 10^2~\\mathrm {s}\\lesssim \\tau_x\\lesssim 10^{12}~\\mathrm {s} . It is stressed that the production of 6Li at early times T~10 keV is overestimated by a factor ~10 when the approximation of the Saha equation for the 4He bound state fraction is utilized. To obtain conservative limits on the abundance of CHAMPs, a Monte Carlo analysis with ~3 × 106 independent BBN runs, varying the reaction rates of 19 different reactions, is performed. The analysis yields the surprising result that, except for small areas in the particle parameter space, conservative constraints on the abundance of decaying charged particles are currently very close to those of neutral particles. It is shown that, in the case that the rates of a number of heretofore unconsidered reactions may be determined reliably in the future, it is conceivable that the limit on CHAMPs in the early Universe could be tightened by orders of magnitude.

We present measurements of carbon, oxygen, silicon, and iron in quasar absorption systems existing when the universe was roughly one billion years old. We measure column densities in nine low-ionization systems at 4.7 < z < 6.3 using Keck, Magellan, and Very Large Telescope optical and near-infrared spectra with moderate to high resolution. The column density ratios among C II, O I, Si II, and Fe II are nearly identical to sub-damped Ly{alpha} systems (sub-DLAs) and metal-poor ([M/H] {<=} -1) DLAs at lower redshifts, with no significant evolution over 2 {approx}< z {approx}< 6. The estimated intrinsic scatter in the ratio of any two elements is also small, with a typical rms deviation of {approx}< 0.1 dex. These facts suggest that dust depletion and ionization effects are minimal in our z > 4.7 systems, as in the lower-redshift DLAs, and that the column density ratios are close to the intrinsic relative element abundances. The abundances in our z > 4.7 systems are therefore likely to represent the typical integrated yields from stellar populations within the first gigayear of cosmic history. Due to the time limit imposed by the age of the universe at these redshifts, our measurements thus place direct constraints on the metal production of massive stars, including iron yields of prompt supernovae. The lack of redshift evolution further suggests that the metal inventories of most metal-poor absorption systems at z {approx}> 2 are also dominated by massive stars, with minimal contributions from delayed Type Ia supernovae or winds from asymptotic giant branch stars. The relative abundances in our systems broadly agree with those in very metal-poor, non-carbon-enhanced Galactic halo stars. This is consistent with the picture in which present-day metal-poor stars were potentially formed as early as one billion years after the bigbang.

The BigBang Observer (BBO) is a proposed space-based gravitational-wave (GW) mission designed primarily to search for an inflation-generated GW background in the frequency range ∼10 -1 Hz-1 Hz. The major astrophysical foreground in this range is gravitational radiation from inspiralling compact binaries. This foreground is expected to be much larger than the inflation-generated background, so to accomplish its main goal, BBO must be sensitive enough to identify and subtract out practically all such binaries in the observable universe. It is somewhat subtle to decide whether BBO's current baseline design is sufficiently sensitive for this task, since, at least initially, the dominant noise source impeding identification of any one binary is confusion noise from all the others (rather than instrumental noise). Here we present a self-consistent scheme for deciding whether BBO's baseline design is indeed adequate for subtracting out the binary foreground. We conclude that the current baseline should be sufficient. However, if BBO's sensitivity were degraded by a factor 2 from the current baseline, then its ability to detect an underlying primordial background would depend critically on the value of ρ th , the threshold signal-to-noise ratio marking the boundary between detectable and undetectable sources. If BBO's sensitivity were degraded by a factor 4 from the current baseline, it could not detect a primordial background below Ω GW ∼10 -15 . It is impossible to perfectly subtract out each of the binary inspiral waveforms, so an important question is how to deal with the 'residual' errors in the post-subtraction data stream. We sketch a strategy of 'projecting out' these residual errors, at the cost of some effective bandwidth. We also provide estimates of the sizes of various post-Newtonian effects in the inspiral waveforms that must be accounted for in the BBO analysis

The lithium problem arises from the significant discrepancy between the primordial 7 Li abundance as predicted by bigbang nucleosynthesis (BBN) theory and the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) baryon density, and the pre-Galactic lithium abundance inferred from observations of metal-poor (Population II) stars. This problem has loomed for the past decade, with a persistent discrepancy of a factor of 2–3 in 7 Li/H. Recent developments have sharpened all aspects of the Li problem. Namely: (1) BBN theory predictions have sharpened due to new nuclear data; in particular, the uncertainty on the reaction rate for 3 He(α,γ) 7 Be has reduced to 7.4%, nearly a factor of 2 tighter than previous determinations. (2) The WMAP five-year data set now yields a cosmic baryon density with an uncertainty reduced to 2.7%. (3) Observations of metal-poor stars have tested for systematic effects. With these, we now find that the BBN+WMAP predicts 7 Li/H = (5.24 −0.67 +0.71 ) × 10 −10 . The central value represents an increase by 23%, most of which is due to the upward shift in the 3 He(α,γ) 7 Be rate. More significant is the reduction in the 7 Li/H uncertainty by almost a factor of 2, tracking the reduction in the 3 He(α,γ) 7 Be error bar. These changes exacerbate the Li problem; the discrepancy is now a factor 2.4 or 4.2σ (from globular cluster stars) to 4.3 or 5.3σ (from halo field stars). Possible resolutions to the lithium problem are briefly reviewed, and key experimental and astronomical measurements highlighted

We review the case for and against a bulk cosmic motion resulting from the quantum entanglement of our universe with the multiverse beyond our horizon. Within the current theory for the selection of the initial state of the universe from the landscape multiverse there is a generic prediction that pre-inflation quantum entanglement with other universes should give rise to a cosmic bulk flow with a correlation length of order horizon size and a velocity field relative to the expansion frame of the universe. Indeed, the parameters of this motion are are tightly constrained. A robust prediction can be deduced indicating that there should be an overall motion of of about 800 km/s relative to the background space time as defined by the cosmic microwave background (CMB). This talk will summarize the underlying theoretical motivation for this hypothesis. Of course our motion relative to the background space time (CMB dipole) has been known for decades and is generally attributed to the gravitational pull of the local super cluster. However, this cosmic peculiar velocity field has been recently deduced out to very large distances well beyond that of the local super cluster by using X-ray galaxy clusters as tracers of matter motion. This is achieved via the kinematic component of the Sunyaev-Zeldovich (KSZ) effect produced by Compton scattering of cosmic microwave background photons from the local hot intracluster gas. As such, this method measures peculiar velocity directly in the frame of the cluster. Similar attempts by our group and others have attempted to independently assess this bulk flow via Type la supernova redshifts. In this talk we will review the observation case for and against the existence of this bulk flow based upon the observations and predictions of the theory. If this interpretation is correct it has profound implications in that we may be observing for the first time both the physics that occurred before the bigbang and the existence of the multiverse

We review the case for and against a bulk cosmic motion resulting from the quantum entanglement of our universe with the multiverse beyond our horizon. Within the current theory for the selection of the initial state of the universe from the landscape multiverse there is a generic prediction that pre-inflation quantum entanglement with other universes should give rise to a cosmic bulk flow with a correlation length of order horizon size and a velocity field relative to the expansion frame of the universe. Indeed, the parameters of this motion are are tightly constrained. A robust prediction can be deduced indicating that there should be an overall motion of of about 800 km/s relative to the background space time as defined by the cosmic microwave background (CMB). This talk will summarize the underlying theoretical motivation for this hypothesis. Of course our motion relative to the background space time (CMB dipole) has been known for decades and is generally attributed to the gravitational pull of the local super cluster. However, this cosmic peculiar velocity field has been recently deduced out to very large distances well beyond that of the local super cluster by using X-ray galaxy clusters as tracers of matter motion. This is achieved via the kinematic component of the Sunyaev-Zeldovich (KSZ) effect produced by Compton scattering of cosmic microwave background photons from the local hot intracluster gas. As such, this method measures peculiar velocity directly in the frame of the cluster. Similar attempts by our group and others have attempted to independently assess this bulk flow via Type la supernova redshifts. In this talk we will review the observation case for and against the existence of this bulk flow based upon the observations and predictions of the theory. If this interpretation is correct it has profound implications in that we may be observing for the first time both the physics that occurred before the bigbang and the existence of the multiverse

We summarize some applications of bigbang nucleosythesis (BBN) and the cosmic microwave background (CMB) to constrain the first moments of the creation of matter in the universe. We review the basic elements of BBN and how it constraints physics of the radiation-dominated epoch. In particular, how the existence of higher dimensions impacts the cosmic expansion through the projection of curvature from the higher dimension in the "dark radiation" term. We summarize current constraints from BBN and the CMB on this brane-world dark radiation term. At the same time, the existence of extra dimensions during the earlier inflation impacts the tensor to scalar ratio and the running spectral index as measured in the CMB. We summarize how the constraints on inflation shift when embedded in higher dimensions. Finally, one expects that the universe was born out of a complicated multiverse landscape near the Planck time. In these moments the energy scale of superstrings was obtainable during the early moments of chaotic inflation. We summarize the quest for cosmological evidence of the birth of space-time out of the string theory landscape. We will explore the possibility that a superstring excitations may have made itself known via a coupling to the field of inflation. This may have left an imprint of "dips" in the power spectrum of temperature fluctuations in the cosmic microwave background. The identification of this particle as a superstring is possible because there may be evidence for different oscillator states of the same superstring that appear on different scales on the sky. It will be shown that from this imprint one can deduce the mass, number of oscillations, and coupling constant for the superstring. Although the evidence is marginal, this may constitute the first observation of a superstring in Nature.

We consider the construction of nonsingular pre-big-bang and ekpyrotic type cosmological models realized by the addition to the action of specific higher-order terms stemming from quantum corrections. We study models involving general relativity coupled to a single scalar field with a potential motivated by the ekpyrotic scenario. We find that the inclusion of the string loop and quantum correction terms in the string frame makes it possible to obtain solutions of the variational equations which are nonsingular and bouncing in the Einstein frame, even when a negative exponential potential is present, as is the case in the ekpyrotic scenario. This allows us to discuss the evolution of cosmological perturbations without the need to invoke matching conditions between two Einstein universes, one representing the contracting branch, the second the expanding branch. We analyze the spectra of perturbations produced during the bouncing phase and find that the spectrum of curvature fluctuations in the model proposed originally to implement the ekpyrotic scenario has a large blue tilt (n R =3). Except for instabilities introduced on small scales, the result agrees with what is obtained by imposing continuity of the induced metric and of the extrinsic curvature across a constant scalar field (up to k 2 corrections equal to the constant energy density) matching surface between the contracting and the expanding Einstein universes. We also discuss nonsingular cosmological solutions obtained when a Gauss-Bonnet term with a coefficient suitably dependent on the scalar matter field is added to the action in the Einstein frame with a potential for the scalar field present. In this scenario, nonsingular solutions are found which start in an asymptotically flat state, undergo a period of superexponential inflation, and end with a graceful exit. The spectrum of fluctuations is also calculated in this case

The astrophysical S factor for the radiative capture d(p,γ)^{3}He in the energy range of interest for bigbang nucleosynthesis (BBN) is calculated using an ab initio approach. The nuclear Hamiltonian retains both two- and three-nucleon interactions-the Argonne v_{18} and the Urbana IX, respectively. Both one- and many-body contributions to the nuclear current operator are included. The former retain for the first time, besides the 1/m leading order contribution (m is the nucleon mass), also the next-to-leading order term, proportional to 1/m^{3}. The many-body currents are constructed in order to satisfy the current conservation relation with the adopted Hamiltonian model. The hyperspherical harmonics technique is applied to solve the A=3 bound and scattering states. Particular attention is paid in this second case in order to obtain, in the energy range of BBN, an uncertainty on the astrophysical S factor of the order or below ∼1%. Then, in this energy range, the S factor is found to be ∼10% larger than the currently adopted values. Part of this increase (1%-3%) is due to the 1/m^{3} one-body operator, while the remaining is due to the new more accurate scattering wave functions. We have studied the implication of this new determination for the d(p,γ)^{3}He S factor on the deuterium primordial abundance. We find that the predicted theoretical value for ^{2}H/H is in excellent agreement with its experimental determination, using the most recent determination of the baryon density of the Planck experiment, and with a standard number of relativistic degrees of freedom N_{eff}=3.046 during primordial nucleosynthesis. This calls for a more accurate measurement of the astrophysical S factor in order to confirm the present predictions.

After the second World War, it was believed that the whole chemical elements of the Universe were produced in the heart of the stars by successive nuclear fusion reactions. However, the relative abundance of some elements, such as deuterium, helium, lithium, beryllium or bore, are more abundant than expected by this simple theory. In 1970, the spallation mechanism was proposed to explain the formation of anomalous abundances of lithium, beryllium and bore in the interstellar medium by the splitting of heavy nuclei under the action of cosmic rays. However, this process cannot explain the observed quantities of deuterium, helium 3 and 4, and lithium 7. The explanation must be found in the first steps of the Universe creation. This paper describes the first minutes of the evolution of the primordial Universe and the successive chain reactions between neutrons, protons, and neutrinos, and then between neutrons and protons to produce deuterium and progressively heavier nuclei. This standard model of the BigBang does not show any major contradiction between the observed relative abundance of elements and a common value for the baryonic number. However, the stellar activity has continuously modified the primordial abundance of the elements, in particular deuterium could have been ten times more abundant in the primitive matter than today. The observation and analysis of stellar matter, meteorites, stars and young galaxies indicate that the baryonic number cannot be greater than 5 10 -10 and that today the Universe's baryonic density is lower than 3 10 -31 g/cm 3 . This value is 15 to 30 times lower than the critical density on which our Universe evolution depends. Our Universe seems to be in a perpetual expansion as far as the existence of a huge quantity of non-baryonic matter (the famous missing mass) has not been demonstrated. (J.S.). 12 refs, 3 figs, 1 photo

The cosmic energy density in the form of radiation before and during BigBang Nucleosynthesis (BBN) is typically parameterized in terms of the effective number of neutrinos N eff . This quantity, in case of no extra degrees of freedom, depends upon the chemical potential and the temperature characterizing the three active neutrino distributions, as well as by their possible non-thermal features. In the present analysis we determine the upper bounds that BBN places on N eff from primordial neutrino-antineutrino asymmetries, with a careful treatment of the dynamics of neutrino oscillations. We consider quite a wide range for the total lepton number in the neutrino sector, η ν = η ν e +η ν μ +η ν τ and the initial electron neutrino asymmetry η ν e in , solving the corresponding kinetic equations which rule the dynamics of neutrino (antineutrino) distributions in phase space due to collisions, pair processes and flavor oscillations. New bounds on both the total lepton number in the neutrino sector and the ν e −ν-bar e asymmetry at the onset of BBN are obtained fully exploiting the time evolution of neutrino distributions, as well as the most recent determinations of primordial 2 H/H density ratio and 4 He mass fraction. Note that taking the baryon fraction as measured by WMAP, the 2 H/H abundance plays a relevant role in constraining the allowed regions in the η ν −η ν e in plane. These bounds fix the maximum contribution of neutrinos with primordial asymmetries to N eff as a function of the mixing parameter θ 13 , and point out the upper bound N eff ∼ eff by the Planck satellite will likely provide insight on the nature of the radiation content of the universe

We review the case for and against a bulk cosmic motion resulting from the quantum entanglement of our universe with the multiverse beyond our horizon. Within the current theory for the selection of the initial state of the universe from the landscape multiverse there is a generic prediction that pre-inflation quantum entanglement with other universes should give rise to a cosmic bulk flow with a correlation length of order horizon size and a velocity field relative to the expansion frame of the universe. Indeed, the parameters of this motion are are tightly constrained. A robust prediction can be deduced indicating that there should be an overall motion of of about 800 km/s relative to the background space time as defined by the cosmic microwave background (CMB). This talk will summarize the underlying theoretical motivation for this hypothesis. Of course our motion relative to the background space time (CMB dipole) has been known for decades and is generally attributed to the gravitational pull of the local super cluster. However, this cosmic peculiar velocity field has been recently deduced out to very large distances well beyond that of the local super cluster by using X-ray galaxy clusters as tracers of matter motion. This is achieved via the kinematic component of the Sunyaev-Zeldovich (KSZ) effect produced by Compton scattering of cosmic microwave background photons from the local hot intracluster gas. As such, this method measures peculiar velocity directly in the frame of the cluster. Similar attempts by our group and others have attempted to independently assess this bulk flow via Type la supernova redshifts. In this talk we will review the observation case for and against the existence of this bulk flow based upon the observations and predictions of the theory. If this interpretation is correct it has profound implications in that we may be observing for the first time both the physics that occurred before the bigbang and the existence of the multiverse

HD 140283 is an extremely metal-deficient and high-velocity subgiant in the solar neighborhood, having a location in the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram where absolute magnitude is most sensitive to stellar age. Because it is bright, nearby, unreddened, and has a well-determined chemical composition, this star avoids most of the issues involved in age determinations for globular clusters. Using the Fine Guidance Sensors on the Hubble Space Telescope, we have measured a trigonometric parallax of 17.15 ± 0.14 mas for HD 140283, with an error one-fifth of that determined by the Hipparcos mission. Employing modern theoretical isochrones, which include effects of helium diffusion, revised nuclear reaction rates, and enhanced oxygen abundance, we use the precise distance to infer an age of 14.46 ± 0.31 Gyr. The quoted error includes only the uncertainty in the parallax, and is for adopted surface oxygen and iron abundances of [O/H] = -1.67 and [Fe/H] = -2.40. Uncertainties in the stellar parameters and chemical composition, especially the oxygen content, now contribute more to the error budget for the age of HD 140283 than does its distance, increasing the total uncertainty to about ±0.8 Gyr. Within the errors, the age of HD 140283 does not conflict with the age of the Universe, 13.77 ± 0.06 Gyr, based on the microwave background and Hubble constant, but it must have formed soon after the bigbang. Based in part on observations made with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, obtained by the Space Telescope Science Institute. STScI is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under NASA contract NAS5-26555.

The cosmic energy density in the form of radiation before and during BigBang Nucleosynthesis (BBN) is typically parameterized in terms of the effective number of neutrinos Neff. This quantity, in case of no extra degrees of freedom, depends upon the chemical potential and the temperature characterizing the three active neutrino distributions, as well as by their possible non-thermal features. In the present analysis we determine the upper bounds that BBN places on Neff from primordial neutrino-antineutrino asymmetries, with a careful treatment of the dynamics of neutrino oscillations. We consider quite a wide range for the total lepton number in the neutrino sector, ην = ηνe+ηνμ+ηντ and the initial electron neutrino asymmetry ηνein, solving the corresponding kinetic equations which rule the dynamics of neutrino (antineutrino) distributions in phase space due to collisions, pair processes and flavor oscillations. New bounds on both the total lepton number in the neutrino sector and the νe-bar nue asymmetry at the onset of BBN are obtained fully exploiting the time evolution of neutrino distributions, as well as the most recent determinations of primordial 2H/H density ratio and 4He mass fraction. Note that taking the baryon fraction as measured by WMAP, the 2H/H abundance plays a relevant role in constraining the allowed regions in the ην-ηνein plane. These bounds fix the maximum contribution of neutrinos with primordial asymmetries to Neff as a function of the mixing parameter θ13, and point out the upper bound Nefflesssim3.4. Comparing these results with the forthcoming measurement of Neff by the Planck satellite will likely provide insight on the nature of the radiation content of the universe.

The equations for the correlation functions (derived from the Einstein equations) that describe a statistically chaotic universe are solved in this paper as well as in Paper II. From these solutions the corresponding changes in the standard bigbang scenario are determined, and the degree of disorder (that is, constaints on the fluctuation spectrum) which an initially wholly chaotic universe could have retained by the epoch t/sub es/ of light-element nucleosynthesis is established. The time boundaries of the hadron and lepton eras as well as the epochs when electron neutrinos and neutrons become frozen out in weak interactions shift by a factor of up to 1.4 compared with the standard model; the corresponding temperature will drop to 0.88 times the standard value if the rms level of fluctuations averaged over the spectrum during these eras is of order unity. If the fluctuations concentrated in the short-wavelength part of the spectrum have an energy density epsilon<1.5epsilon-bar, then nucleosynthesis in the chaotic cosmology would yield a helium abundance consistent with that observed. If at epoch t/sub es/ the spectral energy density peaks in the long-wave region (lambda/sub max/>>ct/sub es/), the degree of disorder during the nucleosynthesis era would be limited to ..nu..< or =1.76 (here ..nu..approx...integral..Vertical Barc/sub k/Vertical Bar/sup 2/d/sup 3/k; c/sub k/ represents the Fourier amplitude of the metric fluctuations). In particular, Ozernoi's protogalactic vortex perturbations with a wide spectrum (..delta.. = ..delta..k/k> or approx. =4 x 10/sup 3/..cap omega../sup -1/, ..cap omega.. = rho/rho/sub crit/) are compatible with the observed He abundance.

We present calculations showing that upcoming Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) experiments will have the power to improve on current constraints on neutrino masses and provide new limits on neutrino degeneracy parameters. The latter could surpass those derived from BigBang Nucleosynthesis (BBN) and the observationally-inferred primordial helium abundance. These conclusions derive from our Monte Carlo Markov Chain (MCMC) simulations which incorporate a full BBN nuclear reaction network. This provides a self-consistent treatment of the helium abundance, the baryon number, the three individual neutrino degeneracy parameters and other cosmological parameters. Our analysis focuses on the effects of gravitational lensing on CMB constraints on neutrino rest mass and degeneracy parameter. We find for the PLANCK experiment that total (summed) neutrino mass M{sub ν} > 0.29 eV could be ruled out at 2σ or better. Likewise neutrino degeneracy parameters ξ{sub ν{sub e}} > 0.11 and |ξ{sub ν{sub μ{sub /{sub τ}}}}| > 0.49 could be detected or ruled out at 2σ confidence, or better. For POLARBEAR we find that the corresponding detectable values are M{sub ν} > 0.75 eV, ξ{sub ν{sub e}} > 0.62, and |ξ{sub ν{sub μ{sub /{sub τ}}}}| > 1.1, while for EPIC we obtain M{sub ν} > 0.20 eV, ξ{sub ν{sub e}} > 0.045, and |ξ{sub ν{sub μ{sub /{sub τ}}}}| > 0.29. Our forcast for EPIC demonstrates that CMB observations have the potential to set constraints on neutrino degeneracy parameters which are better than BBN-derived limits and an order of magnitude better than current WMAP-derived limits.

Short-baseline neutrino anomalies suggest the existence of low-mass [m ˜O (1 ) eV ] sterile neutrinos νs. These would be efficiently produced in the early universe by oscillations with active neutrino species, leading to a thermal population of the sterile states seemingly incompatible with cosmological observations. In order to relieve this tension it has been recently speculated that new "secret" interactions among sterile neutrinos, mediated by a massive gauge boson X (with MX≪MW), can inhibit or suppress the sterile neutrino thermalization, due to the production of a large matter potential term. We note however, that they also generate strong collisional terms in the sterile neutrino sector that induce an efficient sterile neutrino production after a resonance in matter is encountered, increasing their contribution to the number of relativistic particle species Neff. Moreover, for values of the parameters of the νs-νs interaction for which the resonance takes place at temperature T ≲few MeV , significant distortions are produced in the electron (anti)neutrino spectra, altering the abundance of light element in bigbang nucleosynthesis (BBN). Using the present determination of 4He and deuterium primordial abundances we determine the BBN constraints on the model parameters. We find that 2H/H density ratio exclude much of the parameter space if one assumes a baryon density at the best fit value of Planck experiment, ΩBh2=0.02207 , while bounds become weaker for a higher ΩBh2=0.02261 , the 95% C.L. upper bound of Planck. Due to the large error on its experimental determination, the helium mass fraction Yp gives no significant bounds.

You are cordially invited to attend the concluding open session of the conference The BigBang and the interfaces of knowledge: towards a common understanding of Truth? Wednesday 25 June at 14.30 in the Main Auditorium Please register by Tuesday 24 June at: https://indico.cern.ch/event/325739/ In 2012, CERN and Wilton Park hosted the pioneering international conference “The Big Bank and the interfaces of knowledge: towards a common language?” The purpose of this conference was to enable scientists from a range of disciplines to dialogue with philosophers and theologians from the world religions about the nature of the BigBang. What understandings might scientists and theologians share in common? How are their paradigms shaped and developed? Is it possible to develop a common framework or language. The conference gained global attention. A follow-up conference will be held on 23-25 June 2014 with the purpose of widening the spectrum of...

My Strong Magnetic Field model (SMF) for the Origin of Magnetic Fields at Combination Time analyzes this first-order transition in the BigBang Model, (Astro-ph0509223), an age of about 400,000 years. SMF exploits facts about the rapid Spinodal Decomposition instability and other facts from plasma physics, that determine the morphology and dynamics of our universe. This leads to a unique Supercluster topology with all the mass, visible and invisible, on the shell of an ellipsoid surrounding an extremely high vacuum void. SMF assumes, in accord with Einstein's theory of general relativity's Lambda term (1918), that there exists a finite "cosmological" constant of energy (ees), representing the negative pressure/repulsive gravitational force associated with every unit volume of empty space. However, over billions of years, the force of attractive gravity from all the matter, visible and invisible, on the Supercluster shell, dramatically reduced the density of particles in the Supercluster's central high vacuum region. Thus, eventually, the ees repulsive gravity force overcame any attractive gravity in the Supercluster's huge central region and an accelerating expansion of the Supercluster began. The region where the ees repulsive gravity force dominates is perhaps what the WMAP satellite authors have termed "Dark Energy". Our BigBang universe probably has similar Superclusters with voids everywhere in the universe, as astronomers have suggested, thus producing the observed quite smooth transition to an accelerating expansion of our entire BigBang universe. This matches what two independent, international groups of astronomers both separately observed and concluded in 1998.

We extend the Induced Matter Theory of gravity (IMT) to 5D curved spacetimes by using the Weitzenboeck representation of connections on a 5D curved spacetime. In this representation the 5D curvature tensor becomes null, so that we can make a static foliation on the extra non-compact coordinate to induce in the Weitzenboeck representation the Einstein equations. Once we have done it, we can rewrite the effective 4D Einstein equations in the Levi-Civita representation. This generalization of IMT opens a huge window of possible applications for this theory. A pre-bigbang collapsing scenario is explored as an example. (orig.)

The subtitle translation is very different from other forms of translation.We translators should meet the particular needs of the subtitle.This study is going to analyze the subtitle translation in "The BigBang Theory" from Newmark’s Communicative Translation Theory in three main perspectives:the information transmission,the aesthetics effect and the emotional transmission.In the information transmission the study will put emphasis on the limited circumstance.In the aesthetics effect the study will explore the expression of the sense of beauty.In the emotional transmission this study will study the use of rhetoric to express different emotions.

We extend the Induced Matter Theory of gravity (IMT) to 5D curved spacetimes by using the Weitzenboeck representation of connections on a 5D curved spacetime. In this representation the 5D curvature tensor becomes null, so that we can make a static foliation on the extra non-compact coordinate to induce in the Weitzenboeck representation the Einstein equations. Once we have done it, we can rewrite the effective 4D Einstein equations in the Levi-Civita representation. This generalization of IMT opens a huge window of possible applications for this theory. A pre-bigbang collapsing scenario is explored as an example. (orig.)

We show that the Li problems can be solved in the next-to-minimal supersymmetric standard model where the slepton as the next-to-lightest supersymmetric (SUSY) particle is very long lived. Such a long-lived slepton induces exotic nuclear reactions in big-bang nucleosynthesis, and destroys and produces the Li7 and Li6 nuclei via bound state formation. We study cases where the lightest SUSY particle is singlino-like neutralino and bino-like neutralino to present allowed regions in the parameter space, which is consistent with the observations on the dark matter and the Higgs mass.

In this paper, we study some nonlinear behaviors in a two-dimensional system defined by a Boost Converter controlled by CPWM (Centered Pulse-Width Modulation) and a ZAD (Zero Average Dynamics) strategy. The dynamics was analyzed using a discrete-time map, which consists of a sampled system at each switching cycle. The structure of the two-parametric space is characterized analytically. This allows proving the existence and stability of an infinite number of codimension-one curves that intersect at the same point in the two-parametric space. This phenomenon has been called a big-bang bifurcation.

A framework associating quantum cosmological boundary conditions to minisuperspace hidden symmetries has been introduced in Jalalzadeh and Moniz (Phys Rev D 89:083504, 2014). The scope of the application was, notwithstanding the novelty, restrictive because it lacked a discussion involving realistic matter fields. Therefore, in the present letter, we extend the framework scope to encompass elements from a scalar-tensor theory in the presence of a cosmological constant. More precisely, it is shown that hidden minisuperspace symmetries present in a pre-bigbang model suggest a process from which boundary conditions can be selected. (orig.)

The primordial nucleosynthesis(BBN) right after the bigbang (BB) is one of the key elements that basically support the BB model. The BBN is well known that it produced primarily light elements, and explains reasonably most of the elemental abundances. However, there remains an interesting and serious question. That is so called the cosmological 7Li problem in BBN. The BBN simulations using nuclear data together with the recent detailed micro-wave background measurements explain most of the light elements including D, 4He, etc, but the 7Li abundance is over predicted roughly by a factor of three. Although this problem should be investigated in all the fields relevant including physics and astronomical observations, I will concentrate my discussion on the nuclear physics side, especially the recent progress for studying the last possible major destruction process of 7Be, the 7Be(n,α)4He reaction, which would reduce the overproduction if the cross section is large. There are several efforts recently made for the 7Be(n,α)4He reaction in the world. A new theoretical estimate was made compiling all available data of the mirror reaction 7Li(p,α)4He, suggesting about one order smaller reaction rate than the ones currently being used (Wagoner rate). The n-TOF group measured some part of the s-wave components of the reaction, suggesting that the s-wave contributions are much smaller than the Wagoner rate. The p-wave component was measured clearly at RCNP, Osaka using the time-reverse reaction 4He(α,n)7Be, indicating that the p-wave contribution dominates at the effective temperature region for the BBN. However, the sum of the s-wave and p-wave contributions is about one order of magnitude smaller than the Wagoner rate. It should be of great interest to confirm by the indirect method, Trojan-Horse method to deduce cross sections at the effective temperature region, and also see the cross sections for a wider energy range systematically, which is under way by the BELICOS

Until now it has not been possible to image at atomic resolution using classical electron tomographic methods, except when the target is a perfectly crystalline nano-object imaged along a few zone axes. The main reasons are that mechanical tilting in an electron microscope with sub-ångström precision over a very large angular range is difficult, that many real-life objects such as dielectric layers in microelectronic devices impose geometrical constraints and that many radiation-sensitive objects such as proteins limit the total electron dose. Hence, there is a need for a new tomographic scheme that is able to deduce three-dimensional information from only one or a few projections. Here we present an electron tomographic method that can be used to determine, from only one viewing direction and with sub-ångström precision, both the position of individual atoms in the plane of observation and their vertical position. The concept is based on the fact that an experimentally reconstructed exit wave consists of the superposition of the spherical waves that have been scattered by the individual atoms of the object. Furthermore, the phase of a Fourier component of a spherical wave increases with the distance of propagation at a known 'phase speed'. If we assume that an atom is a point-like object, the relationship between the phase and the phase speed of each Fourier component is linear, and the distance between the atom and the plane of observation can therefore be determined by linear fitting. This picture has similarities with BigBang cosmology, in which the Universe expands from a point-like origin such that the distance of any galaxy from the origin is linearly proportional to the speed at which it moves away from the origin (Hubble expansion). The proof of concept of the method has been demonstrated experimentally for graphene with a two-layer structure and it will work optimally for similar layered materials, such as boron nitride and molybdenum disulphide.

The cosmic energy density in the form of radiation before and during BigBang Nucleosynthesis (BBN) is typically parameterized in terms of the effective number of neutrinos N{sub eff}. This quantity, in case of no extra degrees of freedom, depends upon the chemical potential and the temperature characterizing the three active neutrino distributions, as well as by their possible non-thermal features. In the present analysis we determine the upper bounds that BBN places on N{sub eff} from primordial neutrino-antineutrino asymmetries, with a careful treatment of the dynamics of neutrino oscillations. We consider quite a wide range for the total lepton number in the neutrino sector, η{sub ν} = η{sub ν{sub e}}+η{sub ν{sub μ}}+η{sub ν{sub τ}} and the initial electron neutrino asymmetry η{sub ν{sub e}{sup in}}, solving the corresponding kinetic equations which rule the dynamics of neutrino (antineutrino) distributions in phase space due to collisions, pair processes and flavor oscillations. New bounds on both the total lepton number in the neutrino sector and the ν{sub e}−ν-bar {sub e} asymmetry at the onset of BBN are obtained fully exploiting the time evolution of neutrino distributions, as well as the most recent determinations of primordial {sup 2}H/H density ratio and {sup 4}He mass fraction. Note that taking the baryon fraction as measured by WMAP, the {sup 2}H/H abundance plays a relevant role in constraining the allowed regions in the η{sub ν}−η{sub ν{sub e}{sup in}} plane. These bounds fix the maximum contribution of neutrinos with primordial asymmetries to N{sub eff} as a function of the mixing parameter θ{sub 13}, and point out the upper bound N{sub eff}∼<3.4. Comparing these results with the forthcoming measurement of N{sub eff} by the Planck satellite will likely provide insight on the nature of the radiation content of the universe.

In this paper, a multi-objective framework is proposed for simultaneous optimal network reconfiguration and DG (distributed generation) power allocation. The proposed method encompasses objective functions of power losses, voltage stability, DG cost, and greenhouse gas emissions and it is optimized subject to power system operational and technical constraints. In order to solve the optimization problem, the HBB-BC (Hybrid BigBang-Big Crunch) algorithm as one of the most recent heuristic tools is modified and employed here by introducing a mutation operator to enhance its exploration capability. To resolve the scaling problem of differently-scaled objective functions, a fuzzy membership is used to bring them into a same scale and then, the fuzzy fitness of the final objective function is utilized to measure the satisfaction level of the obtained solution. The proposed method is tested on balanced and unbalanced test systems and its results are comprehensively compared with previous methods considering different scenarios. According to results, the proposed method not only offers an enhanced exploration capability but also has a better converge rate compared with previous methods. In addition, the simultaneous network reconfiguration and DG power allocation leads to a more optimal result than separately doing tasks of reconfiguration and DG power allocation. - Highlights: • Hybrid BigBang-Big Crunch algorithm is applied to network reconfiguration problem. • Joint reconfiguration and DG power allocation leads to a more optimal solution. • A mutation operator is used to improve the exploration capability of HBB-BC method. • The HBB-BC has a better convergence rate than the compared algorithms

"At a news conference in Beijing this Thursday, an international consortium of physicists released the first detailed design of what they believe will be the Next Big Thing in physics: a machine 20 miles long that will slam together electrons and their evil-twin opposites, positrons, to produce fireballs of energy recreating conditions when the universe was only a trillionth of a second old." (1.5 page)

It is shown that the entropy of the low density monochromatic gravitational waves which stabilize gravitationally the crystalline structure of vacuum cosmic space varies with the volume in the same way as the entropy of an ideal gas formed by particles. This implies that close enough to the local Big-Bang event the energy of all the gravitational waves which stabilizes the crystalline structure of vacuum space behaves thermodynamically as though it is consisted of a number of independent energy or matter quanta (neutrons). Also it is shown that the diminishing in the gravitational energy of the waves which stabilize the crystalline vacuum space structure is the source of energy required to produce the electromagnetic radiation which is responsible for the hot matter expansion through a preexisting infinite cosmic space. Matter and antimatter is produced in equal quantities at the BigBang region and there are no annihilation events between them during their initial stage of expansion through vacuum cosmic space due to the gravitational stress gradient pattern existing around the source region which has zero gravitational stress all the matter travels globally in one direction (For instance pointing to the long range tension gravitational stress cell-region) and all the antimatter corresponding to the contiguous compressed cell-region travels in the opposite direction. The obtained expression for the volumetric electromagnetic energy density resembles the classical one proportional to , obtained for the black body radiation in equilibrium conditions at temperature ; and at thermal equilibrium with baryons for the decoupling temperature between photons and matter, , electromagnetic energy of radiation has a value of photons per baryon. Also the evaluation of the Gibbs ´s free energy for the adiabatic compression process of transformation of gravitational stabilization waves of the crystalline vacuum space into baryons at the BigBang gives a value of zero for the

Ordinary-sterile neutrino oscillations can generate significant neutrino asymmetry in the early Universe. In this paper we extend this work by computing the evolution of neutrino asymmetries and light element abundances during the bigbang nucleosynthesis (BBN) epoch. We show that a significant electron-neutrino asymmetry can be generated in a way that is approximately independent of the oscillation parameters δm 2 and sin 2 2θ for a range of parameters in an interesting class of models. The numerical value of the asymmetry leads to the prediction that the effective number of neutrino flavors during BBN is either about 2.5 or 3.4, depending on the sign of the asymmetry. Interestingly, one class of primordial deuterium abundance data favors an effective number of neutrino flavors during the epoch of BBN of less than 3. copyright 1997 The American Physical Society

Our knowledge about the elementary particles stands before a revolution: With the biggest machine of mankind the legendary Higgs boson was discovered - and for its prediction the Nobel prize awarded. Other researchers search for antiparticles from the universe and the shadow regime of the dark matter. What has be happened after the bigbang? How the components of the universe have been arised? Of which consists the world - and why it exists at all? Science reporter and cosmology specialist Ruediger Vaas bends the bow from the smallest of all to the largest of all. He analyzes the actual state of knowledge and reports about the search for a ''world formula'', which explains, what holds the universe together in the innermost. A unique excursion to the fronts of research.

Deuterium is the first nucleus produced in the Universe, whose accumulation marks the beginning of the so called BigBang Nucleosynthesis (BBN). Its primordial abundance is very sensitive to some cosmological parameters like the baryon density and the number of the neutrino families. Presently the main obstacle to an accurate theoretical deuterium abundance evaluation is due to the poor knowledge of the 2H(p,γ)3He cross section at BBN energies. The aim of the present work is to describe the experimental approach proposed by the LUNA collaboration, whose goal is to measure, with unprecedented precision, the total and the differential cross section of the reaction in the 30 < Ec.m. [keV] < 300 energy range.

This talk has been prepared for the Symposium on Novel Approaches to Nuclear Astrophysics hosted by the ACS Division of Nuclear Chemistry and Technology for the San Diego ACS meeting. This talk indeed describes a truly novel approach. It discusses a proposal for the construction of the National Ignition Facility which could provide the most powerful concentration of laser energy yet attempted. The energy from such a facility could be concentrated in such a way as to reproduce, for the first time in a terrestrial laboratory, an environment which nearly duplicates that which occurs within stars and during the first few moments of cosmic creation during the bigbang. These miniature versions of cosmic explosions may allow us to understand better the tumultuous astrophysical environments which have profoundly influenced the origin and evolution of the universe

Accompanying disproof of the F-L expansion paradigm eliminates the basis for expansion redshifts, which in turn eliminates the basis for the Cosmological Principle. The universe is not the same everywhere. Instead the spherical symmetry of the cosmos demanded by the Hubble redshift relation proves the universe is isotropic about a nearby universal Center. This is the foundation of the relatively new Cosmic Center Universe (CCU) model, which accounts for, explains, or predicts: (i) The Hubble redshift relation, (ii) a CBR redshift relation that fits all current CBR measurements, (iii) the recently discovered velocity dipole distribution of radiogalaxies, (iv) the well-known time dilation of SNeIa light curves, (v) the Sunyaev-Zeldovich thermal effect, (vi) Olber's paradox, (vii) SN dimming for z 1 an enhanced brightness that fits SN 1997ff measurements, (ix) the existence of extreme redshift (z > 10) objects which, when observed, will further distinguish it from the bigbang. The CCU model also plausibly expl...

"Experiments at the Brookhaven National Laboratory have created the hottest, densest matter ever observed, recreating conditions a fraction of a second after the birth of the universe, scientists have announced" (1 page)